Montgomery Council Committee to Discuss Train Whistle Problem Along CSX Tracks

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Thursday, Jan. 24

100 Maryland Ave., Rockville

Montgomery Council Committee to Discuss Train Whistle Problem Along CSX Tracks

Committee Meetings on Thursday, Jan. 24, Also Will Focus on Minority Health Issues, Germantown Incubator, TDRs

ROCKVILLE, January 23, 2008—For those who live near the tracks of the CSX corporation, the blowing of train whistles around the clock is a regular part of life. On Thursday, Jan. 24, the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee will look into the possibility of providing some quieting relief for those residents in the County.
The Transportation and Environment (T and E) Committee, which is chaired by Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers Valerie Ervin and George Leventhal, will meet tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the train whistle problem with representatives of CSX Railroad, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Maryland Transit Authority and the Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPTW). The will meet in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

The meeting will be televised live on County Cable Montgomery (CCM – Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon).

In other committee meetings scheduled for Jan. 24, the Health and Human Services Committee will discuss minority health issues and the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee’s agenda includes an appropriation for the planned Germantown Business Incubator and a status report on Transferable Development Rights (TDRs). Both committees meet at 2 p.m. 

Councilmember Floreen has led the initiative to see if train horn relief can be provided to those who live along the CSX tracks.

Under federal law enacted in 1994, trains are required to sound horns when approaching public grade crossings. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in 2005 ruled that crossings “that do not present a significant risk with respect to loss of life or serious personal injury or that fully compensate for the lack of locomotive horn, may silence the horns with the crossing corridor.” However, the law gives the FRA the authority to make limited exceptions.

CSX tracks encounter street-level crossings from Dickerson in the northern part of Montgomery County to Silver Spring in the southern part of the County. Trains using the tracks are operated by CSX, Amtrak and MARC Trains (Maryland Transit Authority). Approximately 56 trains travel all or part of this line every day, with horns blowing at the crossings day and night.

In 2006, DPTW undertook a study of the Forest Glen / Linden Lane crossing to see if measures could be taken to alleviate the horn noise. That study will be part of Thursday’s discussion.

The Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by George Leventhal and includes Councilmembers Roger Berliner and Duchy Trachtenberg, will meet with representatives of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services to discuss progress on a variety of minority health initiatives. In November, Councilmember Leventhal asked for more information on related issues, such as the leading causes of death for minorities, to help the Council make decisions on where health funding should be directed.

The PHED Committee, which is chaired by Marilyn Praisner and includes Councilmembers Floreen and Marc Elrich, will discuss the recommendation of County Executive Isiah Leggett for a supplemental appropriation of $2.2 million to cover increased design, demolition and renovation costs associated with building the Germantown Business Incubator. The recommendation is to leverage non-County funds (state assistance) plus $850,000 in County general revenue funds.

The PHED Committee also will receive a briefing on the Transferable Development Rights program that allows property owners in designated areas to increase density by purchasing development rights from property owners in the County’s Agricultural Reserve. The program provides equity to partially compensate property owners for the loss of value that occurred when agricultural properties were down-zoned to preserve farmland in the Agricultural Reserve. For the program to work, there must be sufficient TDR receiving areas to provide a market for the purchase of TDRs from property owners in the Agricultural Reserve. A report to be discussed states the number of potential areas that can increase density through TDRs has decreased significantly.

Media Contact: Neil H. Greenberger 240-777-7939