Update on 12/13/2023
Train horn UPDATE: Lake County Quiet Zone to resume within one week!
We have great news! The Village of Antioch has received word that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has determined that all crossings in the Lake County Quiet Zone are now compliant with the new federal regulations. The Lake County Quiet Zone will be reinstated within the next seven days. (As of December 13, 2023)
Please note: You may still hear train horns from time to time. Train engineers have the discretion to sound their horns for safety purposes.
Thank you for your patience! Also, thank you to the 10 Lake County Quiet Zone communities, the Lake County government, and the state, federal, and rail agencies who all came together to resolve the compliance issues as quickly as possible.
Update on 10/11/2023:
Be prepared to hear train horns
Areas throughout the Village of Antioch along with nine other member Lake County Quiet Zone communities will soon begin hearing train horns and other railroad crossing feature sounds. While the sound is anticipated to be only temporary, it is undetermined how long this will impact the Lake County Quite Zone corridor.
Why is this happening?
Quiet Zones are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In recent years, the FRA has modified its requirements for crossings. Those modifications meant that nearly all crossings within the Lake County Quiet Zone (in seven of the 10 communities) needed to undergo improvements. The Village of Antioch, along with the other Lake County Quiet Zone communities, is working to make the necessary modifications as quickly as possible.
When is this happening? When will it end?
The Quiet Zone is suspended (not terminated). Horn blowing is anticipated to begin any time after 10/11/2023.
The member communities have all made commitments to complete compliance work by the end of the year and have submitted their revised schedule to the FRA. Pending the completion of crossing improvements, we expect the Quiet Zone suspension to be lifted. The Quiet Zone is viewed as a whole, so the suspension cannot be lifted until all improvements are completed within all 10 communities.
What are the Village of Antioch and other communities doing about this?
The group of communities has been working towards compliance following the corrective action letter received from the Federal Railroad Administration. This has required considerable coordination between agencies including the ten Lake County Quiet Zone member communities, the FRA, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), CN Railroad, the Lake County government, and the Illinois Department of Transportation permitting authority.
Those members have all been working to find methods of completing this work. The required improvements provide several small, spread-out projects along work zones across seven communities, compared to a normal construction project where work is contained in one area. In the Village of Antioch, the only crossing needing improvement work is the CN crossing at North Avenue (just east of Main Street). These improvements are being handled by Lake County and are expected to begin later this month (October).
