Comment EI-32148
Received or sent (printed as 8/18/2022)
Contrary to the popular belief of weekend motorcycle enthusiasts and railroad engineers louder tailpipes and locomotive horns do not save lives they simply damage the environment in which they are deployed. High decibel locomotive horns do not stop at grade collisions they stop conversations, pause television programs, end telephone calls, disturb sleep patterns and denigrate the lives of people who live near rail lines. Noise negatively impacts the quality of and life expectancy of humans. I am not opposed to the merger of CP and KCS the result will be the more efficient transportation of commodities between the nations of North America. In my small Iowa town we have three gated at grade crossings within less than a mile. The KCS tracks run parallel between the Mississippi River and Hwy 67. Two of the three crossings have limited sight lines for west bound vehicular traffic trying to cross the tracks. All three crossings have nowhere for vehicles turning east to wait for rail traffic other than to block a travel lane on Hwy 67. Despite these hazardous conditions the only fatality in the past 20 years has been a pedestrian who was hit by a railroad service vehicle between the marked street crossings. Every train that passes through Princeton no matter the time of day begins blowing their earsplitting pointless air horns on one end of town and does not stop until they reach the other. This noise is an environmental hazard. To protect the citizens and the environment the STB should close the two crossings with limited sight lines which also cannot be crossed by a semitrailer without risk of high centering on the tracks. A waiting lane along Hwy 67 at the Lost Grove road crossing should be installed and the railroad should be made to construct a 4’ fence on both sides of their tracks to prevent negative pedestrian / train interactions. These modifications will eliminate the need for locomotive air horns thus remove an environmental hazard from my community.
Submitted by: WILLIAM ALLEN GRUNDER · PRINCETON, IA
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-36500/comment/EI-32148 · back to the docket sheet