Train horns will again be silenced in Lake County Quiet Zone

The Lake County Quiet Zone is set to be reinstated, two months after locomotives were temporarily allowed to sound their horns at dozens of rail crossings throughout Lake County.

The Federal Railroad Administration determined that all crossings are now compliant with new federal regulations, clearing the way for reinstatement of the quiet zone rules. Communities were notified Wednesday and told routine train horn sounding should be silenced by Dec. 20.

The Lake County Quiet Zone runs along the Canadian National/Metra commuter rail line from Wheeling to Antioch. It encompasses 59 crossings in 10 communities.

After inspecting the crossings, the FRA required 13 median upgrades, 27 signage updates and five speed waivers. Until the work’s completion, trains were permitted to sound their horns.

The Lake County Quiet Zone had been in place for many years before its temporary suspension Oct. 11. Because it’s treated as a whole, train horns were allowed to sound throughout the zone until improvements in all the communities were made. Work was completed at 45 crossings over the past several months, followed by another FRA inspection.

While routine horn-sounding at crossings will be silenced, train horns may still be heard from time to time as engineers have the discretion to do so for safety purposes, according to the FRA.