Quieting the trains

By: J. David Chapman/November 10, 2016

There is something romantic about the sound of a train – or is there?

Musician Paul Simon once said, “There’s something about the sound of a train that’s very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful.” The success of the Shady Rest Hotel and owners Kate and Uncle Joe in the 1960s sitcom Petticoat Junction was dependent upon the Hooterville Cannonball train’s continued service to the community. Edmond was originally known as Summit because it was the highest point on the rail line and was founded out of necessity to service the train with coal, water, ice, and food. Oh, the romance of rail – where did it go? Cities all over the nation are in the process of quieting the romantic sound of those trains.

The cities of Norman, Oklahoma City and Edmond all have a BNSF railway with as many as 40 freight trains roaring through their cities on any given day. The chambers and economic authorities in these cities, as well as their commercial real estate professionals, are all trying to attract companies and development in their respective cities. The competitive nature of commercial real estate and the economic value of attracting companies and development have led to so-called “quiet zones” on railways that run through urban areas.

The engineers on these 40 trains are required to sound their horns at a certain decibel level for a specific length of time based on the speed they are traveling before each road crossing. The sounding of these horns is shown to reduce employee productivity and real estate property values in their areas.

Quiet zones are sections of the railroad corridor where train crews don’t have to sound the horn at railroad crossings. To establish a quiet zone, all crossings must have physical safety improvements that compensate for the loss of the train horn as a warning device. Additional safety measures that may be required at each crossing increases the costs that are determined during an on-site analysis.

Proactively realizing the value of quiet zones to economic development, Norman and Oklahoma City have nearly completed work to silence the horns in their urban communities. Edmond has budgeted $200,000 to study the need for, and expense of, quiet zones. Quiet zones are just another example of the “Arms Race” that is economic development.

J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).