Train Horns Save Hundreds of Lives, Yet Kill Thousands from Noise Exposure
By Douglas J. Leaffer, PhD, PE, WELL Sound Advisory, International Well Building Institute
Abstract
Fatalities at US railroad crossings decreased by several hundred (2007-2024), attributable in part to Federally mandated train horns at crossings. Yet sleep disturbance from railway noise contributes significantly to the burden of disease, causal to thousands of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). Significant associations between rail noise and sleep disturbance, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular disease mortality are well-cited in the epidemiological literature. Many communities have updated their crossings for safety or built over or under to deconflict road and train traffic. Far more rail crossings need upgrades to keep the community safe and allow for quiet zones to be established. Despite some improvement in rail crossing safety statistics, the estimations of DALY attributed to road traffic and railway noise indicates a significant contribution to the disease burden. More research is needed to support a balance of community safety and public health equities of these factors.
Introduction
The Train Horn Rule was created following an increase in US train collisions in the late 1980s at certain highway-rail grade crossings where nighttime whistle bans had been established, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)[1]. In 1994, Congress ordered the FRA to enact federal regulations requiring train horns to be sounded at all public highway-rail grade crossings, of which there are over 200,000 in the US. By 1996 a vehicle-train crash occurred in the US nearly every 90 minutes. Further, at those crossings where train horns were not sounded (including gated crossings), motorists suffered an 84 percent increased likelihood of being hit by a train [2].
Thirty years on, evidence presented by the National Safety Council (NSC) is clear: fatalities at railroad crossings decreased (2007-2024), attributable in part to implementation of Federally-mandated train horns[3]. Despite this favorable trend, sleep disturbance from railway noise contributes significantly to the burden of disease, causal to thousands of disability-adjusted life years (DALY), according to a leading occupational health study. Significant associations between rail noise and sleep disturbance, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular disease mortality are well-cited in the epidemiological literature.
The train noise problem nevertheless continues to present public health risk, as do the public safety issues at rail crossings. In 2024, of the total 954 deaths reported by the National Safety Council (NSC), 27% occurred at rail-crossings. This article examines the safety and health statistics and presents suggestions for balancing of the public safety and public health equities for protection of human lives.
Methods
We reviewed National Safety Council (NSC) statistics on US deaths and non-fatal railroad incidents (2007-2022) and epidemiological data from several recent (2017 – present) occupational and environmental health studies and meta-studies detailing contributions of road traffic and railway noise to the burden of disease and to disability-adjusted life years (DALY). Statistics from these studies were evaluated to frame a more complete assessment of the factors, both positive and detrimental, affecting safety and health outcomes of persons involved in rail-crossing incidents and others chronically exposed to railway noise.
Results
Table 1 presents a summary of year-over-year fatalities in US railroad incidents, 2007-2024. Despite pronounced interannual volatility, deaths at railroad crossings increased modestly from 851 (2007) to 954 (2024), corresponding to a long-term average rate of approximately +0.7% per year. More recently, from 2020 to 2024, fatalities at highway-rail crossings increased by an average annual rate of 8% (NSC), while overall (total) deaths increased nearly 3% on average in the ten years since 2015.
Table 1 Deaths in US Railroad Incidents (2007-2024)[3]
Figure 1 presents long-term trends in both deaths and nonfatal injuries in US railroad incidents over the same time period (2007 -2024). The ratio of railroad-related deaths to nonfatal injuries and illnesses is about 1:7. Of the 3,494 nonfatal occupational railroad injuries and illnesses reported in 2024, 76 were attributed to highway-rail crossing incidents. Nonfatal injuries totaled 6,542, a 3% decrease from the 2023 revised total of 6,768. From 2023 to 2024, fatalities at highway-rail crossings increased 7%, while fatalities involving other types of incidents decreased 4%. Trends for both deaths at railroad crossings (-1.5%) and injuries and illnesses (-2%) at crossings have minimally decreased since 2007.
Figure 1 Deaths and nonfatal injuries in US railroad incidents (2007 -2024)[3]
Despite slight reductions in acute fatality rates at rail crossings, collateral train horn noise exposure has led to substantial long-term adverse health outcomes. Numerous references in the environmental and occupational health and epidemiological literature point to associations of transportation noise with adverse health effects. The number of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) attributed to traffic noise in Sweden, a country where the health effects of environmental noise are well-studied, was estimated to be 41,033 years, with 36,711 DALY (90%) related to road traffic and 4,322 (10%) related to railway traffic. The most important contributor to the disease burden was sleep disturbances, accounting for 22,218 DALY (54%), followed by annoyance, 12,090 DALY (30%), and cardiovascular diseases, 6,725 DALY (16%). The Swedish study concluded road traffic and railway noise contribute significantly to the burden of disease in Sweden each year [4].
Other morbidity effects of rail noise are well documented. According to Smith et al. (2022), noise-induced sleep disturbance is additionally a key risk factor for diabetes mellitus (DM)[5]. Vienneau et al. (2024), showed that aircraft, followed by railway noise leads to the greatest sleep disturbance, comparing transportation noise source exposures [6]. In a 2024 meta-analysis cohort study by Vienneau et al. in Environmental Health (2024) examining long-term exposure to transportation noise and disease, the authors cite a Canadian study by Shin, et al. (2020) – the first study on railway noise exposure demonstrating a link with DM mortality – however the association is small (Shin et al., 2020) [7]. A Swiss study of associations of exposure to transportation noise with sleep and cardiometabolic health additionally found that railway noise was mainly associated with lower sleep efficiency (β = -0.15, 95 %CI: -0.23, -0.06) and increased metabolic risk (β = 0.14, 95 %CI: -0.05, 0.32) in 527 healthy Swiss adults aged 20-89 years (Wicki B, et al, 2025) [8]. Vienneau et al. reported, based on a nationwide cohort from Switzerland, hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.029 (95% CI 1.024–1.034) and 1.013 (95% CI 1.010–1.017) for the association between road traffic and railway noise and cardiovascular disease mortality, respectively (Vienneau et al., 2022) [9].
Discussion
What can be done to mitigate the deleterious health effects of train noise while maintaining the protective safety benefits of train horns at highway-rail grade crossings? Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations were developed to provide a consistent approach nationwide to enable local jurisdictions to establish quiet zones without compromising safety[10]. While many communities have updated their crossings for safety or built over or under to deconflict road and train traffic, far more rail crossings need upgrades to keep the community safe and allow for quiet zones to be established (NLC) [11]. A US federal study ongoing since 2014 has shown that deaths do not rise when quiet zones are created, enabling trains to cross intersections without blowing their horns [12]. Alternatively, some cities have implemented wayside horns, which sound at the crossing, not on the trains, limiting noise pollution. Establishment of quiet zones and other engineering controls are recommended for community review, where feasible. Yet the environmental noise exposure health effects remain pervasive. More research is needed to support a balance of community safety and public health equities of these factors.
Conclusion
The train noise problem nevertheless continues to present a public health risk, as do the public safety issues. Recent statistics from 2020 to 2024 show that fatalities at highway-rail crossings increased by an average annual growth rate of 8%, despite Federally-mandated train horns (NSC). Trends for deaths at railroad crossings (-1.5%) and injuries and illnesses (-2%) at crossings have minimally decreased only modestly since 2007. Despite some improvement in rail crossing safety, the estimations of DALY attributed to road traffic and railway noise indicates a significant contribution to the disease burden, in particular concerning sleep disturbance and annoyance, but also with regard to diabetes mellitus (DM) and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease. The trade-off between protecting public safety at crossings with ubiquitous train horns or establishment of quiet zones proffers a ‘Hobson’s choice’ — save hundreds of lives in the next few years or kill thousands over the ensuing decades.
References
1 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
2 Chicago Tribune
3 National Safety Council (NSC), (https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/railroad-deaths-and-injuries/)
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10 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) https://railroads.dot.gov/
11 The National League of Cities (NLC), www.ncl.org
12 Sun Sentinel
