Quiet zone on rail line is a reality

The 38-mile Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner commuter rail corridor that runs from Salt Lake City to Ogden officially entered its silent era Friday morning.

The corridor, shared by UTA's new commuter line and Union Pacific freight trains, has specially designed safety equipment at each of its 43 road crossings to ensure driver safety and allow the trains to pass without the federally required horn blasts before and after every crossing.

Fourteen communities along the line had to apply for a "quiet zone" certification through the Federal Railroad Administration. Improvements made by UTA at the crossings clear the way for FRA approval and also allow UP freight trains to forgo the warning signals. UTA's manager of FrontRunner design and construction, Steve Meyer, said establishing the quiet zone was always a goal of the project.

"UTA made the safety improvements because we would be operating over 60 FrontRunner trains a day in the corridor," Meyer said. "This quiet zone is one of many benefits that this project is bringing to the citizens of Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties. We are proud of the leadership shown by the corridor cities to make this quiet zone possible."

Woods Cross City Mayor Kent Parry led the effort among the municipalities on the line in obtaining the sanction for silence.

"For years our citizens have lived with nearly 35 trains a day, sounding their horns at all hours," Parry said. "Woods Cross and other cities seized the opportunity of this new horn rule and UTA's safety improvements to provide a better quality of life for those who live and work in our communities."

UTA officials remind those who live along the train route that motorists and pedestrians should always expect a train, never trespass in a railroad corridor and always obey all traffic laws.