Kansas City Southern Railroad - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Kansas City Southern Railroad

Quiet Zone Plan

Presented by :

Santiago Araque, Kimley-Horn

An OverviewSlide2

Train Horns On KCSR In Laredo

32

At Grade Crossings16 Trains Per Day8 Day Trains (6AM – 6PM)

8 Night Trains (6PM – 6AM)Crossing Horns – 2 Long, 1 Short, 1 LongHorn Blasts Every Day(1,024 Horn Blasts every night)2,048

32 x 16 x 4 =Slide3

Whose Affected?Slide4
Slide5

Quiet Zone RequirementsSlide6

BackgroundDefinition:

“A quiet zone is a section of a rail line at least one-half mile in length that contains one or more consecutive public highway-rail grade crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded when trains are approaching the crossings” – FRA (Federal Rail Administration)RegulationUnder Train Horn Rule (Federal Law), train operators must sound train horns in advance of all public grade crossingsHorn operations is a 15 to 20 second pattern, with minimum volume of 96 dB and max volume of 110 dBSlide7

The “Final Rule” for Quiet Zones

Establishment (Code of Federal Regulations)Federal Law – Enacted in 2005Train Horns Required – Public SafetyLocal Authorities can establish Quiet ZonesReference: Title 49 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter II, Part 222Slide8

Quiet Zone “Minimum Requirement”

Gates, Flashing Lights, Railroad Cabin With White Light – All Public Crossings

6 out of 32 Existing Crossings Do Not Have GatesZaragoza StreetSanta Isabel Avenue

Vidaurri AvenueSanta Rita AvenueJuarez AvenueMarcella AvenueGate Installation Costs Are $350,000 per Crossing (approx.)6 x $350k = $2.1 million“Train Does Not Sound Horn” Warning SignsSlide9

Quiet Zone “Risk”Increased risk without hornRisk Indexes

National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT)Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) – Calculated

National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT)

Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI)Meets Quiet Zone RequirementsNational Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT)Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI)

Does not meet Quiet Zone RequirementsSlide10

Safety Measures

All ASMs must be approved by FRA

Must be tested prior to approval and effectiveness shown

Approximately 1 Year for approvalAlternative Safety Measures (ASMs) -do not fully meet requirement of SSMsSupplemental Safety Measures VS Alternative Safety MeasuresTemporary or Full-Time Closure of Public CrossingsGates with Median Islands or Channelization Devices (median and driveway limitations)

Four-Quadrant GatesOne Way Streets with GatesWayside HornsSlide11

Supplemental Safety Measures (SSMs)

Temporary or Full-Time Closure of Public CrossingsGates with Median Islands or Channelization Devices (median and driveway limitations)Four-Quadrant Gates

One Way Streets with GatesWayside HornsSlide12

Alternative Safety Measures (ASMs)Alternative Safety Measures (ASMs) -do not fully meet requirement of SSMs

Engineered Alternative Safety MeasuresNon-Engineered Alternative Safety MeasuresAll ASMs must be approved by FRA Must be tested prior to approval and effectiveness shownApproximately 1 Year for approval

Example: quietzonetech.comSlide13

Modified SSMsPublic agency must develop engineering justification and obtain FRA approval of effectiveness ratings

Example: Combinations of medians and gates, but driveway too close

N

< 60’Alternative Safety Measures (ASMs)Slide14

Average Risk Index of All Crossings in a Quiet Zone

Calculation Based On Risk Factors:

Eliminating the Train Horn

Any Safety Measures InstalledAverage Daily Traffic (ADT)Number of Trains Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI)

National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT)

Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI)Does not meet Quiet Zone RequirementsSlide15

SSMs and ASMs: Risk ReductionRisk Reduction CreditEach safety measure is assigned an “effectiveness” score

SSMs are 100% EffectiveASMs need FRA approvalEffectiveness is based on proven risk reductionQuiet Zone Risk Index must be reduced below NSRT

SSM / ASM

Cost EstimatesPermanent Closure$5,000Upgrade 2 Gates to Quad Gates$100,000Mountable Median with Channelization$13,000Add Gates$350,000Slide16

Quiet Zone Study

3 Different Quiet Zone Alternatives proposed

Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 – Full Quiet Zone (Arkansas to

Vidaurri)Alternative 3 – East Laredo Quiet Zone (Arkansas to Monterrey Ave)All alternatives excluded Zaragoza and Santa IsabelCrossings outside of Quiet Zone must be minimum of 600’ away from proposed quiet zoneVidaurri must be closed in order to have full Quiet ZoneAlternative 1Alternative 2

Alternative 3Cost $ 1,194,000

$849,000 $476,000 QZRI14,26914,08314,343

NSRT14,347Slide17

Alternatives Studied

Alternative 1Limits: Vidaurri to Arkansas1 Downtown Closure3 Gate Installations1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates0 ASM’s3 SSM MediansTotal Cost: $1,194,000QZRI: 14,269NSRT: 14,347 Alternative 2Limits: Vidaurri to Arkansas2 Downtown Closure2 Gate Installations1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates0 ASM’s3 SSM MediansTotal Cost: $849,000QZRI: 14,083NSRT: 14,347

Alternative 3

Limits: Monterrey to ArkansasOnly SSM’s East Quiet Zone0 Crossing Closures1 Gate Installation1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates0 ASM’s2 SSM MediansTotal Cost: $476,000 (2018)QZRI: 14,343NSRT: 14,347Slide18

Proposed Safety Measures

Crossing

Alternative 1

Alternative 2Alternative 3VidaurriClosureClosureNot Studied in this AlternativeSanta RitaGatesClosure

JuarezGatesGates

ConventMedian (SSM)Median (SSM)Corpus ChristiQuad Gates*

Quad Gates*Quad Gates*

MarcellaGatesGatesGates

MarketQuad GatesQuad GatesQuad GatesSeymour Median (SSM)Median (SSM)

Median (SSM)

Market E

Median (SSM)

Median (SSM)

Median (SSM)

Arkansas

Quad Gates*

Quad Gates*

Quad Gates*

*Mitigation not required in 2018 and not calculated in cost shown. Mitigation may be established in the future to lower QZRI.

$1,194,000

$849,000

$476,000 Slide19

Next Steps

Hold a staff and public meeting to receive stakeholder input.Produce a Final Report upon the MPO’s and City’s recommendations.Prepare the official quiet zone application packet, using information from the FRA calculator.Prepare design plans for crossing closures and safety improvements at crossings

Issue the following to the FRA and KCSRNotice of Intent (NOI) to establish a quiet zonePlans showing safety improvementsAddress any NOI review comments receivedInstall safety improvements and No Train Horn signs, covering the signs with bagsRequest inspection of improvements from KCSR

Issue the Notice of Establishment (NOE) for the quiet zone, stating the date that horns are to go silent.