February 21, 2025 Update:
Salt Lake City (SLC), North Salt Lake (NSL), and Woods Cross (WX) staff were surprised to learn that an additional comment period ending March 17, 2025, has been added to Docket ID FRA-2024-0124 for the Salt Lake City waiver which has had the North Salt Lake waiver added to it.
To comment, go to: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FRA-2024-0124/document and click on the comment box as shown in the image below:
NOTE: To ensure that your comment is considered and added to the docket, open and review the “Commenter’s Checklist” below the “Write a Comment” heading at the top of the page as shown in this image:
The checklist ensures that your comments contain the information necessary to be added to the docket. Information in the Document Details tab and Docket Documents tab will provide additional information for the waiver.
While NSL resubmitted their waiver application on November 4th, 2024, and SLC on November 7th, 2024, the cities were asked by the FRA on December 11th to combine the applications, which they completed that same day.
The Regulations.gov website where the waiver applications are located shows that the combined application was received by the FRA on December 11 and posted on January 13, 2025. To our knowledge, the FRA has not set a date for the waiver meeting with the Railroad Safety Board.
We appreciate the efforts of Congresswoman Celste Maloy and Congressman Burgess Owens and their staff for meeting with FRA staff on January 7th to discuss the remaining steps of the waiver process and “urge the Administration to collaborate with us in reinstating the quiet zones. If there are specific concerns or barriers preventing reinstatement, we ask that the FRA provide full and candid details regarding these concerns, along with actionable recommendations to resolve them.” Letter to James Miner, Government Affairs, Federal Railroad Administration, from Congresswoman Celeste Maloy’s Chief of Staff Brian Wheat, and Outreach Coordinator, Cody Schlottman, January 7, 2025.
In the past week, Senator John Curtis, Senator Ted Cruz and other members of Congress have lobbied Union Pacific Railroad executives to expedite the SLC and NSL projects that are in Union Pacific’s control. This has opened a series of positive communications that appear to be helping move the projects forward more quickly and we will provide updates as information is available.
Until the two signal arms are installed, the cities continue to explore alternative ways to comply with the FRA regulations. Local, state, and federal leaders, businesses, and other influential members in our communities are putting their time, efforts, and money into finding solutions.
Restoring the quiet zone remains our top priority to restore peace and quiet to the neighborhoods that are severely impacted by the train horns. Please join us in sharing your input through the FRA comment process mentioned above and thank you for your patience and support.
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Efforts to reinstate the 49-mile quiet zone from Ogden to Salt Lake City remain ongoing. Two railroad crossings remain non-compliant—Main Street in North Salt Lake and 1000 West in Salt Lake City. Both cities are working to resolve the issues and expedite the reinstatement of the Woods Cross Quiet Zone.
In December, the cities filed a waiver application with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting that the quiet zone be reinstated, with the exception that train horns continue to be required at the two non-compliant crossings instead of at every crossing from Ogden to Salt Lake City.
Although both cities have allocated funds for the necessary improvements, Union Pacific mandates that only its authorized contractors perform work on railroad infrastructure. Construction plans have been submitted for approval, but Union Pacific estimates approval and completion may take 18–24 months.
Woods Cross, North Salt Lake, and Salt Lake City are working with state representatives to explore solutions to expedite relief from the train horns.
On February 4, 2025, the FRA assigned a new docket number to the joint waiver submitted by North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City. The FRA is currently accepting public comments and will continue to do so until March 17.
You can view the waiver and submit comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2024-0124-0004
North Salt Lake has been proactive in posting updates (as they are directly involved), and you can find more information on their website: https://nslcity.org/1025/2024-Railroad-Quiet-Zone
Posted 2/11/2025