Train engineers can now decide when to blow horns at passenger stations

The US railroad regulator proposes to let railroads decide when to sound train horns at passenger stations. This means railroads can set their own rules for horn use, and the usual minimum sound levels will not apply.

For decades, federal rules required train engineers to blow their horns at every crossing and station, regardless of local conditions. This change gives railroads more control over noise levels in communities near passenger stations. It could lead to quieter neighborhoods, but also shifts responsibility for safety decisions to individual railroads.