Quiet Zone Overview
Quiet Zone Creation Process Purpose:
The overall
purpose of the application process is to achieve Quiet Zone status for a
corridor of crossings, in which horns are not sounded as trains pass
through. A
corridor will not be designated a Quiet Zone unless specific requirements are
met to reduce the risk index to a level that is equal to or less than the
national average risk at gated crossings with horns, or the risk is reduced
enough to compensate for the loss of the safety benefit afforded by a train
sounding its horn.
Quiet Zone Designation Requirements:
· Each public crossing within a New Quiet Zone must at a
minimum be equipped with gates. Each public crossing within a Pre-Rule Quiet
Zone may retain, but may not downgrade the warning systems in place.
· A Quiet Zone must be at least one half of a mile in length,
although Pre-Rule Quiet Zones may remain unchanged.
· A Quiet Zone may be designated if Supplementary Safety
Measures (SSMs) are applied to every public at-grade
crossing within the Quiet Zone.
· A Quiet Zone may be designated if the Quiet Zone Risk Index
(QZRI) is below the Nationwide Significant Risk
Threshold (NSRT).
· A Quiet Zone may be designated if Supplementary Safety
Measures (SSMs) are instituted which reduce the
Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) to a level below the
Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT), or to
the risk level which would exist if locomotive horns sounded at all crossings
within the zone.
· A Pre-Rule Quiet Zone may also be designated if the Quiet
Zone Risk Index (QZRI) is less than twice the
Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT ) and
there have not been any relevant collisions at the public crossings within the
Quiet Zone for the past five years.
Quiet
Zone Overview Flowchart