Railroad Quiet Zone Status Returning to the City of St. Louis

Today, the City of St. Louis received notice from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that the City has successfully met the requirements established by the FRA to retain its quiet zone compliance. This means that train engineers will no longer be required to sound their horns at crossings throughout the City.

According to the FRA, railroads have been notified of the quiet zone compliance. While the reinstatement of the quiet zones goes into effect immediately, it will take several days for all systems and protocols to be updated and train horns to cease.

Immediately after receiving notice on Sept. 10 that the FRA would be suspending the City's quiet zones, the Office of Mayor Cara Spencer, department leaders, and the Street Department implemented a plan of action based on the FRA's requirements.

The Traffic and Lighting Division within the Street Department led the work, completing the physical upgrades needed, removing out-of-date railroad bars, inserting "stop bars" (painted bars in front of railroad crossings), and installing hundreds of new 36-inch signs. In addition, the division worked with FRA inspectors and submitted the documentation needed for each railroad crossing.

"Our Traffic and Lighting crews stayed focused under pressure and worked incredibly hard to meet all the necessary requirements - and they did this well ahead of our anticipated schedule," said Mayor Cara Spencer. "They showed what real teamwork looks like, putting the needs of our residents first and foremost."

Once work began to upgrade the railroad crossings according to FRA regulations, the City provided a Railroad Crossings Quiet Zone Compliance page with weekly updates. Original projections indicated that quiet zones would be reinstated by mid to late December, but the City completed the needed upgrades, passed inspections, and submitted final documentation to the FRA well ahead of schedule.

"Hearing train horns at all hours of the day and night was truly a disruption to our City," said Mayor Spencer. "But our crews met this challenge head on, and we can now look forward to having quiet restored."