Mundelein may silence train horns

Four years ago, Mundelein officials celebrated a federal decision allowing them to use automated train horns at local railroad crossings.

Seen as an alternative to traditional train whistles, the digital equipment -- installed at nine Canadian National crossings in the area -- proved to be adept at alerting motorists to oncoming trains while reducing noise levels along rail lines.

Now village leaders are considering tearing them down.

The automated horns, which resemble loudspeakers on tall poles, aren't needed anymore because the Canadian National tracks through Lake County were declared a quiet zone last year. In such zones, traditional train horns can be silenced because other safety measures are in place.

Removing the automated horns may have undesirable consequences, however.

If the Federal Railroad Administration rescinds the quiet-zone decree after the devices are removed, officials may be unable to reinstall them, Assistant Village Administrator Michael Flynn wrote in a Feb. 28 memo.

Additionally, some village leaders fear potential legal liability if an accident occurs after the horns are removed.

The devices can be left in place and turned off, but train crews must sound their whistles if they encounter out-of-order automated horns -- even in declared quiet zones, Flynn wrote. That procedure was set by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees local rail safety.

"The ICC rules (say) that if the confirmation signal is not working, the horn must be sounded," Flynn wrote.

The automated horns were installed in 2002 on Butterfield Road, Route 60, Allanson Road, Hawley Street, Park Street, Route 176, Dunbar Road, Winchester Road and Peterson Road.

The Butterfield crossing is in Vernon Hills, and the Winchester and Peterson crossings are in unincorporated Lake County near Libertyville. Lake County officials are planning to remove the automated horns on Winchester and Peterson roads.

Flynn believes village leaders can remove Mundelein's automated horns and not break the federal quiet-zone requirements at crossings with divided medians or other safety features. Such improvements can be made at the Hawley Street, Park Street, Allanson Road and Route 60 crossings, Flynn wrote.

Mayor Kenneth H. Kessler spoke briefly about Flynn's memo Monday night. The board didn't discuss it or take any action on the matter. The panel could discuss the horns' fate at a future meeting, Kessler said.