SMYRNA, Ga. — The new Rail Crossing Quiet Zones are approved for use in the downtown and trains are no longer required to sound at the Quiet Zone intersections, but residents may expect to hear horns at various times.
Trains will no longer be “required” to sound their horns at the Spring Street and Hawthorne Avenue crossings in the downtown as of 12:01 a.m. June 14, but situations still exist where it is left to the discretion of the conductor/engineer.
The City of Smyrna installed devices that enable CSX to enact the Quiet Zone rules at these intersections, but the trains are under the jurisdiction of CSX and if an event is taking place that warrants the conductor/engineer sounding the horn such as a vehicle, animal or person on the tracks, you may still hear a horn sound. If a conductor/engineer is unfamiliar with the new rules at the intersection(s), you may hear a horn. It is also likely that at various times a conductor/engineer may feel the need to continue to sound the horn for other unspecified reasons.
What might an unspecified reason be? A single-vehicle accident at the Hawthorne Avenue Quiet Zone on June 21 impacted Quiet Zone status at the crossing at Hawthorne just seven days after approval for use. A flat-bed 18-wheeler cut short and knocked crossing equipment across the tracks, necessitating a temporary halt of rail traffic and Quiet Zone status. While repairs were in progress trains were required to blow the horn three times and stop at the crossing before moving through the crossing. By June 23 repairs were 90 percent complete at the Hawthorne Avenue crossing and trains were back to treating the crossing as a quiet zone. CSX has been onsite to adjust and level the newly installed (repaired) crossing assembly.
Moving forward there should be a reduction in the use of horns at these two intersections as CSX personnel become familiar with and adjust to the change, but please keep in mind that from time to time, you may still hear a horn. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
