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Bloomington's Train Horn Quiet Zone Begins Next Week

Amtrak
Eric Stock
/
WGLT
Trains will sound their horns more sparingly at three crossings in Bloomington.

Life is about to get quieter for residents near one of the main rail lines that cuts through Bloomington.

A new train horn quiet zone goes into effect Tuesday at three Union Pacific/Amtrak crossings at Washington Street, Miller Street, and Six Points Road, all in Bloomington, city officials said Wednesday. Quiet zones ban the use of horns unless there's an emergency or other safety risk. 

The quiet zone only covers the Union Pacific/Amtrak line, which runs north and south through Bloomington and Normal. That’s because the state's high-speed rail project paid for the safety improvements required to establish a quiet zone, city officials said. 

Bloomington officials did not pursue a quiet zone on the separate Norfolk Southern line that runs east and west through the city. Because those high-speed safety improvements weren’t already made to that line, it would cost over $400,000 per crossing to do now.

Bloomington announced plans to pursue the quiet zone in July. A similar quiet zone designation in Normal began in January.

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Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.