More trains blaring horns at night

Union Pacific’s new plan means a jump in rail traffic at odd hours, which has some downtown residents upset

When Susan Johnson and her husband bought their home last year a few blocks from the train tracks that cut through downtown and up Japantown, the neighborhood was relatively quiet after dark.

But in recent weeks, the couple has been getting an unpleasant wake-up call in the middle of the night: trains blaring their horns at 3 a.m.

“We didn’t sign up for this,” a frustrated and sleep-deprived Johnson, 35, said after repeatedly being rousted from sleep by the horns. “How are you supposed to sleep through that?”

The extra noise comes thanks to Union Pacific, which recently made some operating changes. Those changes, the company says, are meant to reduce the number of idling locomotives and the amount of time they stand still. But the shift also means more trains at odd hours.

“Train traffic has the potential to increase or decrease throughout our network, at any given time,” spokesman Tim McMahan said in an email. “We are at a point where communities in this area will see an increase in train traffic.”

And, he added, “At this time, we do not anticipate a decrease.”

Now, two trains traverse the tracks twice — once each way — to make deliveries after 8 p.m. and into the middle of the night, with the trips coordinated through a dispatch center in Omaha, Nebraska. And because there’s no quiet zone in the area, which is part of the Warm Springs Subdivision, McMahan said crews “are required to blow the horn as they approach several crossings located in this corridor.”

The noise has riled the local Nextdoor community and prompted several people to complain to Councilman Raul Peralez’s office.

In 2016, residents faced a similar, albeit temporary, situation when trains were rerouted. At the

time, Peralez urged Union Pacific to notify communities before blaring through. But that didn’t happen.

“The community was not notified and neither was our office,” said Christina Ramos, Peralez’s chief of staff.

McMahan acknowledged as much, which angers the councilman.

“As a downtown resident, I also hear and am annoyed by the disruptive late-night Union Pacific horns,” Peralez said. “As a council member, I am frustrated with the lack of local, state and federal control over private railroad companies.”

The City Council doesn’t have jurisdiction over Union Pacific, so getting the noise to stop isn’t an easy task. It is possible for cities to establish quiet zones, but Union Pacific thinks they compromise safety, and cities often are required to add extra safety measures such as gates and medians before Union Pacific will lay off the horn.

Peralez’s office has reached out to the city’s Department of Transportation about the possibility of establishing a quiet zone downtown.

But those conversations are in the early stages, and his office is telling residents that any change will take funding and time.

A spokesman for Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said Friday that she plans to send a letter to Union Pacific, the city of San Jose and the Federal Railroad Administration “strongly encouraging them to work collaboratively on this in an expedited manner to address the concerns her constituents have voiced.”

In the meantime, residents may want to invest in earplugs.

“I’m surprised they can get away with it,” Johnson said, pointing out that San Jose International Airport has a curfew. “I just think it’s ridiculous.”