There’s a noisy distraction interfering with the sleep of residents in Middletown, Aston, and Chester Heights—the train horn from the SEPTA Wawa train line, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.
The ‘incessant train horns” sound out at all hours, residents said.
Residents want noise and nuisance ordinances in their towns enforced to limit the horns late in the evening.
A Change.org petition has 200 signatures so far supporting a quiet zone at the Lenni Road crossing.
One Aston resident speaking at Middletown Council’s February meeting said he is pro-train but also pro-sleep.
“The horn has been a big drain on our community,” the man said. “SEPTA has been an obnoxious new neighbor who moved in about seven months ago.”
The Federal Railroad Administration mandates that train horns be tested daily for safety as part of ongoing maintenance. Crews have been doing the work between 11 PM and 5 AM.
SEPTA said they’ve instructed crews to only tap on the horns instead of blowing them for a long period of time. They’ve also changed the times for the horn tests to between 9:30 and 10:30 PM., though one train doesn’t make it back to the yard until 1 AM.
Read more about train horn nuisance at the Daily Times.
Experience a first trip to on the Wawa regional rail line and station visit.
