On November 15, West Life, a Rocky River community newspaper, reported on the efforts to bring quiet zones and a West Shore commuter train between Lorain and Cleveland. It posed important questions that city officials with a stake in the line must grapple with. Below are the questions, followed by (preliminary) answers from All Aboard Ohio.

WL: Municipal officials along the rail line are wondering whether Norfolk Southern is open to the idea for the use of its rails

ABO: NS supports commuter trains using its tracks through Rocky River, under conditions common to virtually all other commuter rail operations using someone else's tracks. Those conditions include a track-usage agreement in which the commuter rail operator will make appropriate payments to NS, carry sufficient liability insurance, build stations that meet NS criteria and make other changes to NS's right of way that doesn't negatively impact NS.

WL: Would (this) count toward the 14 trains per day agreement?

ABO: To my knowledge, NS's response doesn't directly answer whether the number of commuter trains count toward the 14-train limit as specified in the agreement between NS and Bay Village, Lakewood and Rocky River. NS's response is that commuter rail would not harm the integrity of the agreement. Clarification of this legal position will be provided in a promised letter from NS to the three communities.

WL: (Could) freight and commuter rail co-exist on the same line?

ABO: Freight and commuter rail could certainly co-exist on the same line, as they do in many other parts of the nation where freight trains and commuter trains share the same rails. This is especially true on the tracks through Rocky River, considering the excess capacity of the NS track.

WL: If commuter rails use whistles instead of the louder horns, would they also be required to follow the quiet zone rules?

ABO: Horns is the more accurate term. Their volume or tone doesn't change based on whether the train is a commuter or a freight train. The type of horn varies with the manufacturer and model of locomotive, just as is true with car horns. The volume of train horns depends on how much compressed air they are allowed to emit, and their tone varies on how many horns are on the locomotive. Today, the common practice is five horns, creating an ear-piercing "chime" sound. That's intentional—it gets people's attention.

Yes, commuter trains follow the same Quiet Zone rules as freight trains. In fact, since commuter trains are lighter and shorter than freight trains, they can stop in much less time/distance than a freight train. To underscore this, if the tracks through Rocky River saw only commuter trains and had no freight trains, the safety features needed to create a Quiet Zone would likely be less extensive and therefore less expensive.