ELLENDALE, DE -- Some neighbors told WBOC they are frustrated with excessive train horns running through the town at night. The complaints are inspiring town leaders to consider implementing a 'train quiet zone'.
Multiple neighbors told WBOC they are routinely woken up from train horns during the middle of the night. The complaints follow similar concerns raised by Harrington neighbors.
"It seems like, for the last year, they've really gotten louder at night," neighbor Virginia Weller said. "It seems like they blow the horn longer. I don't know who they're blowing to at midnight, but it's not a good thing."
Weller said she has lived in the area for ten years, and that the recent increase in noise has made it hard to sleep at night.
"I understand that they have to do their job, but if there could either be a quiet time, or a way to get them to not blow it as much or for as long, that would be great," Weller said.
Town leaders told WBOC the conversation comes on the heels of similar ones in Harrington. They said, if created, the quiet zone would likely target residential areas near the train tracks.
"It happens at like 1 am in the morning, and it goes all the way through town," neighbor Rowland Moore said.
Moore told WBOC that he has lived at the corner of the tracks for thirty years, and this has been the first time he's ever had a noise issue. However, Moore said he isn't sure if a quiet zone is the right solution due to safety concerns.
"I live next to the railroad track. Who's responsible if they make the quiet zone, an accident happens, and then a car gets stuck in my house? My insurance company is not going to pay for that," Moore said.
Town officials told WBOC that no final decisions or ordinances have been made yet. Ellendale's town council is expected to discuss the possible creation of a 'train quiet zone' at their meeting on Wednesday, June 4th.