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Kansas City Southern Railroad Quiet Zone Plan

Learn about the Kansas City Southern Railroad Quiet Zone Plan in Laredo, including affected areas, risk indexes, safety measures, proposed alternatives, costs, and next steps to establish a quiet zone.

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Kansas City Southern Railroad Quiet Zone Plan

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  1. Kansas City Southern RailroadQuiet Zone Plan An Overview Presented by : Santiago Araque, Kimley-Horn

  2. Train Horns On KCSR In Laredo • 32 At Grade Crossings • 16 Trains Per Day • 8 Day Trains (6AM – 6PM) • 8 Night Trains (6PM – 6AM) • Crossing Horns – 2 Long, 1 Short, 1 Long 2,048 • 32 x 16 x 4 = Horn Blasts Every Day (1,024 Horn Blasts every night)

  3. Whose Affected?

  4. Quiet Zone Requirements

  5. Quiet Zone “Minimum Requirement” • Gates, Flashing Lights, Railroad Cabin With White Light – All Public Crossings • 6 out of 32 Existing Crossings Do Not Have Gates • Zaragoza Street • Santa Isabel Avenue • Vidaurri Avenue • Santa Rita Avenue • Juarez Avenue • Marcella Avenue • Gate Installation Costs Are $350,000 per Crossing (approx.) • 6 x $350k = $2.1 million • “Train Does Not Sound Horn” Warning Signs

  6. Quiet Zone “Risk” National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT) Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) • Increased risk without horn • Risk Indexes • National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT) • Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) – Calculated Meets Quiet Zone Requirements National Significant Risk Threshold (NSRT) Quiet Zone Risk Index (QZRI) Does not meet Quiet Zone Requirements

  7. Safety Measures Supplemental Safety Measures VS Alternative Safety Measures • Temporary or Full-Time Closure of Public Crossings • Gates with Median Islands or Channelization Devices (median and driveway limitations) • Four-Quadrant Gates • One Way Streets with Gates • Wayside Horns • All ASMs must be approved by FRA • Must be tested prior to approval and effectiveness shown • Approximately 1 Year for approval • Alternative Safety Measures (ASMs) -do not fully meet requirement of SSMs

  8. 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 Isabel • Crossings outside of Quiet Zone must be minimum of 600’ away from proposed quiet zone • Vidaurri must be closed in order to have full Quiet Zone

  9. Alternatives Studied Alternative 3 • Limits: Monterrey to Arkansas • Only SSM’s East Quiet Zone • 0 Crossing Closures • 1 Gate Installation • 1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates • 0 ASM’s • 2 SSM Medians • Total Cost: $476,000 (2018) • QZRI: 14,343 • NSRT: 14,347 Alternative 1 • Limits: Vidaurri to Arkansas • 1 Downtown Closure • 3 Gate Installations • 1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates • 0 ASM’s • 3 SSM Medians • Total Cost: $1,194,000 • QZRI: 14,269 • NSRT: 14,347 Alternative 2 • Limits: Vidaurri to Arkansas • 2 Downtown Closure • 2 Gate Installations • 1 Upgrades from 2 gates to quad Gates • 0 ASM’s • 3 SSM Medians • Total Cost: $849,000 • QZRI: 14,083 • NSRT: 14,347

  10. Proposed Safety Measures *Mitigation not required in 2018 and not calculated in cost shown. Mitigation may be established in the future to lower QZRI. $476,000 • $1,194,000 • $849,000

  11. 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 KCSR • Notice of Intent (NOI) to establish a quiet zone • Plans showing safety improvements • Address any NOI review comments received • Install safety improvements and No Train Horn signs, covering the signs with bags • Request inspection of improvements from KCSR • Issue the Notice of Establishment (NOE) for the quiet zone, stating the date that horns are to go silent.

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