Richardson residents are being jolted awake by the blare of train horns, an unexpected soundtrack in areas once designated as quiet zones. According to a report from The City of Richardson's official website, complaints have started to roll in after the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroad resumed operations on March 4 following a nearly two-year hiatus.
The reactivated tracks run through northern Richardson just south of the Bush Turnpike, crossing at Alma Road and Custer Parkway. They had been silenced to make way for the DART Silver Line Project. But as trains began to rumble again, so did the horns, forced to alert due to rust on the tracks, which is currently preventing the crossing arms from being properly activated. This is contrary to the intended peace of "quiet zones," where horns are traditionally not sounded.
The railroad company has pointed to the rust accumulation as the culprit behind the malfunctioning safety measures. The City of Richardson states that the rust must be worn off the tracks to ensure the crossing arms can activate reliably, necessitating the sounding of horns for safety's sake.
No definite resolution date has been offered by authorities, leaving residents to conjecture when they might expect to reclaim the quiet. Once the crossing arms are back in working order, the expectation is for the train horns to finally be silenced, restoring tranquility to the neighborhoods they once disrupted.
