Federal RR safety rules mandate the duration and intensity of locomotive horns sounding at all grade crossings. There is the potential for a local jurisdiction to petition for a Quiet Zone. Perhaps our city staff knows whether a QZ is possible at any of the crossings in MP.

See a link to the rules plus embedded QZ info here:

https://railroads.dot.gov/highway-rail-crossing-and-trespasser-programs/train-horn-rulequiet-zones/train-horn-rule-and-quiet

Thank you for reporting your issue through ACT Menlo Park. Under the Train Horn Rule (49 CFR Part 222), locomotive engineers must begin to sound train horns at least 15 seconds, and no more than 20 seconds, in advance of all public grade crossings. Since the rail crossings in Menlo Park are currently at grade, it is necessitated for horns to sound at these crossings within the city.

New “quiet zones” have a series of criteria to meet before establishment is possible. According to Section III of Caltrain’s Guidance on the Quiet Zone Creation Process (viewable here: https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/how-create-quiet-zone), physical improvements in the form of quad-gates and/or median island would be needed before a quiet zone could be designated within the city, at City’s expense at approximately $1 million per crossing. At this time, the city does not have the funds to design and install these required improvements.

With that said, we understand the High-speed Rail Authority (HSR) is proposing to blend their operations and share tracks with the Caltrain system in order to complete their line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Part of HSR’s plan for the San Mateo County portion of the project involves the installation of quad-gates at all at-grade crossings. The completion of these improvements would then fulfill the requirements set forth by Caltrain for beginning the process of petitioning a new quiet zone. As a result, we will continue to monitor the HSR progress so we can take advantage of this opportunity.