In 1984, the State of Florida passed a law allowing local governments to ban trains from sounding their horns in certain areas. The horn bans were popular among local residents, but it soon became clear that quiet trains came at a high cost.
Within the first five years of the train horn bans being in effect, the Florida East Coast Railroad became the deadliest stretch of railroad in the nation. A federal investigation found the skyrocketing death rate along the corridor was in large part due to the horn ban, and, in 1991, the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order requiring trains to blow their horns once again.
By the time faster Brightline trains began running along the same tracks in 2018, those key safety measures had been rolled back. Once again, local governments have banned trains from blowing their horns, and once again, the corridor is the deadliest in the nation, according to federal data.
READ MORE: Killer Train: Brightline death toll surpasses 180, but safeguards are still lacking
One longtime observer sees history repeating, and he called for strong federal action to improve safety along the corridor like it did in the 1990s.
“We stopped blowing the horn, and then the accident rate increased dramatically,” Seth Bramson, Florida East Coast Railway's company historian, told WLRN and The Miami Herald. “Somebody at the federal level needs to step in and say: ‘You must blow your horns at crossings.’ Even though it's gonna disturb people's sleep.”
Likewise, local governments have kept dangerous railroad crossings open amid calls to shut them down, emphasizing the impact closures could have on traffic patterns.
In Episode 4 of the Killer Train podcast, hosts Danny Rivero of WLRN and Brittany Wallman of The Miami Herald investigate how local governments have stood in the way of needed safety improvements, even as the federal government and Brightline pushed for changes.
Killer Train was produced with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
