The city of Madison filed an appeal to uphold the ban on train whistles Friday, the latest episode in a power struggle with the state railroad commissioner over a disputed ban on train whistles downtown.

The City Council passed a ban on train whistles in October 2001, but railroad commissioner Rodney Kreuner said the ban threatens the safety of area residents, citing two accidents involving trains at the West Washington train intersection since the ban went into effect.

Two weeks ago, Kreuner ordered train operators to blow their whistles anyway, an order that some city officials say he has no authority to make. Kreuner said city police have issued 20 citations, currently pending in municipal court and potentially totaling $10,000 in fines.

Assistant city attorney Steve Brist filed an appeal Friday to hold a hearing before the railroad commission to give the public an opportunity to vent its frustration with the loud whistles and ask the commissioner to reconsider blaring them.

Peter Munoz, assistant to mayor Sue Bauman, said the hearing would set the stage for Kreunen’s compliance with city law.

“It looks like the cheese has a mousetrap,” Munoz said.

Some Randall Station residents said the trains, which pass through the area approximately twice a day, do not bother them.

“I’d rather that they blow whistles than run people over,” UW junior Bary Klevene said.

Munoz said the city has done extensive safety research showing no evidence to indicate that Madison needs train whistles for safety.

“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.

Tom Walsh, city traffic operations and safety engineer, said the two accidents 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.

The city of Madison also appealed an order made by Kreunen for the city to pay 10 percent of the railroad’s construction of a westbound barrier gate costing $88,000.