Trains crossing West Washington Avenue will again begin to blow whistles until a westbound barrier gate is installed, according to an order issued by State Railroad Commissioner Rodney Kreunen.
Kreunen’s order came in response to his growing concern about the intersection.
“Two accidents occurred at that intersection in less than a year,” Kreunen said. “Both individuals indicated they would have stopped had they heard a whistle.”
If implemented, Kreunen’s order will override a city ordinance put in effect in October 2001 that banned regular train horns at all signaled intersections in the city.
The West Washington intersection has flashing lights, so it counts as a signaled crossing.
Peter Munoz, an aide to Mayor Sue Bauman, said the city has done extensive safety research that showed no evidence to indicate Madison should not maintain a whistle ban.
“We looked at this issue thoroughly from the respect of safety and found no correlation that could be linked between accidents and train horns,” Munoz said.
The city will likely request a hearing to fight Kreunen’s order, according to Munoz.
“We highly question his authority to override a city ordinance,” Munoz said.
Kreunen maintained it is his jurisdiction to defend train operators. He insisted railroad engineers have the authority to whistle at any time.
Kreunen argued the ordinance itself was in conflict with a January 2001 decision by Congress stating that no new whistle bans could be ordered until the Federal Railroad Association determined under what conditions whistle bans could be put into effect.
The Madison ban on whistle blowing did not go into effect until October 2001.
Tom Walsh, city traffic operations and safety engineer, said the two accidents from last year were due to driver error. In both cases, he said, the vehicles passed through the flashing lights and were hit by slow-moving trains.
Kreunen estimated the trains were moving between eight and 12 miles per hour, and even though they damaged the vehicles, there were no fatalities or serious injuries.
Munoz said a barrier gate installed in response to these accidents will cost upwards of $88,000.
Assistant City Attorney Steve Brist said if the city follows Kreunen’s order, it will pay 10 percent of the barrier costs, and the commissioner’s office will pay the rest.
Kreunen’s order is the first opposition to the whistle ban since Wisconsin and Southern Railroad refused to follow the ordinance. He said city police issued citations and documented violations as a result of their refusal.
The city gave 20 citations, which are currently pending in municipal court and could total $10,000 in fines.
“The railroad has been very cooperative since the prosecution started,” Brist said. “They are now very [much] in compliance.”