Enhancing Railroad Discretion in Sounding Locomotive Horns at Passenger Stations

FRA proposes to amend its safety standards related to the use of the locomotive horn to clarify that no Federal regulation requires a railroad to sound a locomotive horn because of the presence of a passenger station. The proposed rule would clarify that a railroad has discretion to determine policies for sounding a locomotive horn at a passenger station through railroad operating rules. The proposed rule would also provide that if a railroad decides to sound a locomotive horn at a passenger station, the minimum sound level requirements in FRA's Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards would not apply to the sound produced by the horn.