What is a quiet zone and where can I get more information about them?
A quiet zone is one or more public grade crossings where the railroad is excused from sounding the familiar “long-long-short-long” horn sequence upon a train’s approach to a grade crossing. It is important to note that this does not mean that a train will never sound its horn within an established quiet zone. Federal regulations and railroad operating rules require that the engineer sound the train’s horn in several instances, such as when approaching people or equipment working on the right-of-way. Moreover, engineers are permitted to sound the horn in a quiet zone if they believe that a situation exists that warrants operation of the horn, such as the presence of pedestrians or animals crossing over the tracks. A quiet zone is unrelated to other sounds associated with railroads, such as engine noise or the sounds of cars moving on the rails.
