Train Horns in Hummelstown

05/08/2025

Looking forward to discussing quiet zones at the Hummelstown Borough meeting this evening at 7pm!

12/24/2024

Don’t let train horns put a damper on your silent night this Holiday Season! Sign the petition to create silent zones in Hummelstown!

https://www.change.org/p/create-a-train-quiet-zone-in-hummelstown

11/28/2024

Don’t let freight train horns scare the stuffing out of you this Thanksgiving! Sign the petition to create a quiet zone in Hummelstown and South Hanover to silence the train horns while increasing safety measures at our railroad crossings! https://www.change.org/p/create-a-train-quiet-zone-in-hummelstown

11/14/2024

Today The Sun (Hummelstown) published a two page photo piece of the railroad crossings in South Hanover Township, Hummelstown Borough, The Township of Derry, and Palmyra. Note the accidents which occurred with existing two arm gates may have been avoided if increased safety measures were in place. These increased safety measures would also allow for the creation of a quiet zone in Hummelstown. A variety of federally approved supplemental safety measures can be used to improve the risk index of a crossing to such a degree that the safety measure of a train horn can be discontinued. It has been well studied by the federal railroad administration that creation of a quiet zone does not make a crossing less safe as these supplemental safety measures must be installed before trains can stop blowing their horns.

The supplemental safety measures can be something as simple as a channelization device, which basically sits on top of the center line with reflective poles upright to prevent cars crossing the center line and driving around gates or measures that are more complex like four gate arms, medians with four gate arms, or even creation overpasses or bridges, so the train tracks and the road are not at the same grade. It doesn’t seem like the horns are stopping accidents (although we know they’re better than not having them if supplemental safety measures are not used), and the horns are certainly not doing us any favors for our long-term health.

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11/14/2024

Weekly update: we are up to 123 signatures on the petition. Thank you for your support! Tell your family and friends to sign if they would like a little bit more peace and quiet in Hummelstown!

Create A Train Quiet Zone in Hummelstown

11/07/2024

Great job inviting friends to sign the petition! We are up to 84 signatures. I believe there are many, many more people in Hummelstown interested in creating a quiet zone as so many are affected by the train horn noise. Some good news is that I have been in discussion with the Borough about this process, and it has been very positive thus far. There are several steps that need to occur, so that we can end with the best result. I hope we can keep the positive momentum going! Please encourage tour friends, family, and neighbors to sign the petition today. Thank you!

https://www.change.org/p/create-a-train-quiet-zone-in-hummelstown

11/03/2024

Many people wonder if it is safe to create a quiet zone. The answer is yes if the proper steps are taken. Increased safety measures must be used if a horn is not sounded, such as channelization devices so people can’t drive around the gate and put themselves at risk of colliding with a train.

In 2013, FRA conducted an internal study on the effectiveness of quiet zones. The study included an analysis of 997 crossings in 203 QZs to "determine whether or not silencing train horns has had a negative effect on crossing safety and whether or not the FRA has accurately assessed that the installation of SSMs and Alternative Safety Measures (ASMs) mitigate the negative impact that the lack of a train horn has on safety at highway-rail grade crossings."* The number of accidents before and after the establishment of a quiet zone was recorded for each crossing in the QZ and then aggregated across crossings within the QZ. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the number of accidents before and after the establishment of QZs, meaning that the safety risk remained the same.

In addition, in 2020 the FRA published a study at trespass risk in quiet zones.

This study focused on 333 quiet zones established between 6/1/2012 and 5/31/2018. Trespass casualties that occurred within the 333 quiet zones were compared before and after the establishment of the quiet zones. Trespass casualties in quiet zones with 2 and 3 years of observable accident data increased from 28 before to 40 after and from 39 before to 47 after the establishment of the quiet zones, respectively. However, trespass casualties in quiet zones with 1 year of observable accident data decreased from 19 before to 17 after the establishment. There was no statistically significant difference in trespass casualties before and after the establishment of the quiet zones for all three observable periods.

https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/trespass-risk-quiet-zones

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween everyone! Don’t let freight train horns “freighten” you! Let Hummelstown know that you would like a sweeter Halloween without train horns by signing the petition below!

https://chng.it/M4yDZLVG8h

10/30/2024

Great article in The Sun (Hummelstown) about the issues facing creation of a quiet zone. Improved health and well-being is worth the discussion and action!

ON THE PRESS: This week’s issue of The Sun – including parade photos, a newborn and more – is now at the printer.

The online edition will be available for our online subscribers later today (Wednesday), and most of our print subscribers will receive it in the mail tomorrow. For subscription info, visit www.thesunontheweb.com and click on the “Subscribe” button.

10/30/2024

Interesting quote from a federal railroad administration representative from an Orlando Sentinel article:

Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said there are nearly 3,500 quiet-zone crossings in 42 states.

“There has been neither an increase or decrease in the number of collisions at quiet-zone crossings,” Flatau said.

Central Florida residents may in the coming year begin to appreciate notes of nostalgia when trains chug through the region, trumpeting over and over their melody of two long blasts, a short and a long.

10/30/2024

Great to see many in Hummelstown are also interested in this! We’re up to 32 people signing the petition in less than a week. Hopefully we can get somewhere with the train noise! Encourage your friends and family to sign if they are also affected by clicking the link below. Thank you!

Create A Train Quiet Zone in Hummelstown

10/28/2024

Would you like to keep your windows open at night without hearing a train horn? Tired of eating on the patio competing with train whistles? Considering signing our petition at change.org. https://chng.it/M4yDZLVG8h