Nevada residents protest train horns

Up to 40 trains a day eventually could travel through Reno on Union Pacific tracks, meaning more horns waking up sleeping residents in west Reno and the west Truckee Meadows, the Gazette-Journal reports.

With double-stacked trains
from the Port of Oakland crossing Donner Pass since last November, the number
of daily trains running through Reno has increased from 15-18 to 20-25, Union
Pacific spokesman Wesley Lujan told Washoe County commissioners. He said that
could be 40 trains daily after more work is completed on the pass.

Trains sound their horns at
about 20 private and public grade crossings in the west Truckee Meadows, said
Lynne Savinski, a Belli Ranch resident who leads a group of residents who want
some crossings closed. They also want the commission to create a "quiet zone"
with four guard arms to block traffic at crossings and warning bells or
whistles.

Phil Huddleston, another
Belli Ranch resident, said a crossing behind his home was blocked by large
boulders and a gate after an irrigation ditch was renovated.

"But they still honk
the horn behind my house," he said.

Lujan said the company has
been aggressive about educating engineers to blow horns at every crossing, as
required by law. He said the company does not want any further liability
exposure for its railroad crossings and would lobby against any changes in
state law.

Last year, Union Pacific
enlarged tunnels so double-stacked trains could use Donner Pass rather than the
Feather River canyon route that’s 73 miles longer. Lujan said Union Pacific
plans to replace seven miles of track over Donner Pass, which would accommodate
more trains across the Sierra.

The work would come after
the economy recovers and volume increases at the Port of Oakland in the San
Francisco Bay area, said Aaron Hunt, another railroad spokesman.

Lujan said the route
through Reno would continue to add trains until it reaches full capacity in
2035. Lee Ann Dickson, a Federal Railroad Administration official, said estimates
are that upgrading crossings for a quiet zone would not cost Washoe County. A
special tax assessment district instead could be formed by residents who would
benefit and agree to pay more for the work, said Adrian Freund, county
community development director.

The commission told staff
to determine whether some private crossings could be combined, research the
county’s liability if anyone were injured or killed at a quiet zone crossing,

A 1911 Nevada law says a
train engineer can be charged with a misdemeanor if failing to "ring a
bell or blow a whistle" at railroad crossings.