COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina’s capital city is considering train quiet zones.
Columbia has between 20 and 30 trains each day and they are required to sound their horns for 15 to 20 seconds as they approach each street crossing, The State newspaper (https://bit.ly/2qoHlAo) reported.
“It’s like living in some two-bit, rural, redneck town where the trains wake everybody up all night long,” said Dick Harpootlian, a Columbia lawyer and former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “We’re supposed to be a sophisticated city.”
The city is creating an 11-member committee to consider what would be needed to create quiet zones.
The Federal Railroad Administration allows cities to create quiet zones if street crossings meet safety requirements. Under such a provision, trains would sound their horns only in case on an emergency.
Assistant city manager Missy Gentry says none of Columbia’s street crossings meet those safety requirements to allow trains to avoid sounding their horns.
A 2003 study estimated it would cost nearly $9 million to install and maintain the needed equipment. Gentry says that cost has likely increased. The city would work to consider both public and private partners for such improvements, she said.
There is no timeline for the project, Gentry said.
Charleston, North Charleston and Spartanburg have train quiet zones.
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Information from: The State, https://www.thestate.com
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