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Why the Lehi quiet zone does not apply to all Provo train crossings

By Jacob Nielson - | Feb 4, 2025

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

A freight train sits on a railroad track Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in south Provo.

Despite the Federal Railroad Administration’s Jan. 3 reinstatement of the Lehi quiet zone, which runs from Salt Lake City to Provo, train horns continue to sound at a handful of public crossings in Provo.

Many have noticed the noise, as evidenced by the frequent emails at least one city official has received from concerned citizens.

But according to Provo Traffic Manager Vern Keeslar, the continued horns aren’t a mistake by train engineers; rather, it’s just business as usual.

Keeslar said the quiet zone only applies to FrontRunner tracks and tracks adjacent to the FrontRunner, meaning any train east of University Avenue where the FrontRunner ends is required to adhere to federal laws and sound its horn 24 hours a day at public crossings.

“Let’s be honest, a railroad track to most people is a railroad track, right? And they don’t distinguish between the FrontRunner and freight trains most of the time,” Keeslar said. “In reality, it’s the UTA FrontRunner railroad crossings that are in the quiet zone, not necessarily the freight tracks. And so the freight tracks are only in the quiet zone when it’s right next to the UTA FrontRunner cross.”

The quiet zone was suspended temporarily at the end of September by the FRA due to noncompliant train crossings. In turn, train horns could be heard all across the zone from October to December, including at the previously quiet Provo crossings of Freedom Boulevard, 500 West, 700 West, 900 West, Draper Lane, 820 North, 1680 North, 2800 West and 2000 North, Keeslar said.

Though those crossings went quiet again in January, horns are still required to be sounded at several other Provo crossings — and were never quiet in the first place. Those include 920 South and 2000 South crossings, and the freight railroad crossings of 820 north, 1680 North and 2000 North.

Keeslar believes the wide media attention of the quiet zone saga led to confusion.

“I think with all this discussion of quiet zones, (people) kind of thought all of Provo was going to be quiet. And it’s never been that way,” he said.

He also emphasized that the quiet zone does not mean trains are prohibited from sounding their horns.

“If there’s an emergency — like, let’s say someone’s goofing around on the platform as the FrontRunner train comes into the station — they can blow their horn,” Keeslar said.

He added there are 12-15 freight trains that pass through Provo daily, including two Amtrak trains.