Train FAQs

Quick answers to the questions we hear most about the trains

Table of Contents

How do you get a quiet zone, and how long does it take? 

A quiet zone is a federal process led by the city and the railroad. At a high level:

  1. The city studies the crossings and identifies the safety improvements the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires, such as gates, medians, or wayside horns.
  2. The city files a Notice of Intent, makes the improvements, then files a Notice of Establishment with the FRA.
  3. Upon approval to move forward, the council member requests council action to fund the design of each crossing per the study. 
  4. The railroads and the FRA review and approve the design. If changes are required, the city will have to request council approval to fund the design changes. 
  5. The city council member requests council action to fund the construction of the design. If changes are required, the city will need to request council approval to fund the additional construction. 
  6. The railroads and the FRA review and approve the construction.
  7. The no-horn sign can be placed at that time. 

A few notes about Quiet Zones for consideration:

  • It does not guarantee silence. Trains will still sound their horns for safety issues or when entering and exiting a yard.
  • Timeline: typically a few years from start to establishment, depending on funding and construction. The timeline is decided by the railroad with the trackage rights. The fastest this can be implemented is in about two years from the date of the community request. The East End has been waiting since 2011 for two quiet zones.  
  • Cost: varies widely by crossing, often hundreds of thousands of dollars ($300k-$1mil) per crossing for the required improvements.
  • Hidden Cost: Since improvements are being made to the railroad right-of-way, railroads can request street closures as part of implementing a quiet zone. They have a history of holding city and county requests in abeyance until they get what they want. 

Why do the trains stop? 

Common reasons a train stops:

  • Waiting to enter the yard, or waiting to let another train pass.
  • Waiting for a Z train (Amazon train), which gets priority from the port.
  • Waiting for clearance through a junction.
  • Someone drove around the crossing arms or is on the track. The train must stop, and the engineer walks the length of the train.
  • Any perceived safety issue requires the crew to stop and walk the length of the train to assess it.
  • The train breaks down.
  • A crew shift change. A parked train waits for the new crew to be brought in.

Most of the time, the train is too long to fit in the yard. Yards average 3,000 to 5,000 feet, and trains run 9,000 to 15,000 feet. Common reasons a train stops:

How do I report a stopped train?

The railroads will tell you to call the number on the blue signs on the crossing signal. You can, but they are not required to share that information with the FRA. FRA data helps support grants and infrastructure projects.

Report blocked crossings to the FRA portal: https://www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings/. You can report up to 7 days in the past.

How do I report other problems?

  • Signal or arms malfunctioning: call the number on the blue sign with the crossing ID, or 888-848-8715 (option 2).

Report the following to Union Pacific at https://www.up.com/communities/notify-union-pacific:

  • High vegetation around the tracks.
  • Unhoused encampments on or next to the tracks.
  • Illegal dumping.
  • Damaged railroad crossings.

Why can’t I just report these to Houston 311?

The most effective way to report a blocked railroad crossing is to contact the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the federal agency responsible for railroad oversight. Reports submitted to the FRA help guide federal action and are the primary tool for tracking and addressing blocked crossings nationwide.

Residents may also choose to report a blocked crossing directly to the railroad company:

  • Union Pacific | (888) 877‑7267
  • BNSF | (800) 832‑5452
  • PTRA | (713) 393‑6509

Additionally, contacting the City’s 311 Service Helpline by calling 3‑1‑1 or (713) 837‑0311 allows us to document the issue locally. The City is actively tracking and sharing resident concerns with the FRA to support ongoing federal review and action.

For real-time information, the City’s “Train Watch” website provides an interactive map showing current conditions at key railroad crossings. You may visit City of Houston eGovernment Center – Train Watch (https://houstontx.gov/trainwatch/) to view the map.

Why can’t we just build bridges over the trains?

What is a grade separation? A grade separation is a bridge (overpass) or tunnel (underpass) that carries the road over or under the railroad tracks so cars and trains never cross at the same level. With a grade separation, a stopped or passing train no longer blocks that street.

The city and county can build them. They are expensive and take a long time. For a single grade separation, the process is usually:

  1. Make the request.
  2. Complete a study, often through federal grants. Usually 1 to 2 years.
  3. Complete a design based on the study, with federal grants again. Usually another 1 to 2 years,
  4. Once the design is approved, secure the construction funding. Can take 1 to 5 years.
  5. Prepare for construction. If, through the city, a fully funded project goes to the back of the 5-year capital plan (CIP).
  6. Build it. Can take 1 to 5 years once construction starts, depending on the project size.

*All of the above estimated timelines assume the funds and project team are immediately available. Grants are not always awarded on the first submission, and they can take a few years to get. In some cases, construction dollars require multiple pools that must be awarded over many years. 

What is being done to help with the trains?

  • East End District Rail Safety Task Force: through the East End District Road and Rail Safety Program, it organizes information and projects and collects resident feedback to encourage operational changes with the railroads. There may be an opening to add 1-2 stakeholders. It meets for 90 minutes once a month.
  • City of Houston Office of Innovation pilot: uses off-the-shelf smart devices tuned to detect activity and anomalies at identified rail crossings. Data is shared monthly at the East End Rail Safety Task Force meetings.
  • East End Rail Focus Group: led by Senator Alvarado to push progress in the East End. SB 1555 was one of the results of this group.
  • Gulf Coast Rail District: reviewing options including strategy around the proposed UP-NS merger that threatens to bring more trains and trucks into the East End, plus operational changes, infrastructure options, and preparing for grants to study additional projects across the Houston complex.
  • Eastwood Civic Association Trains Committee: a small but mighty group gathering information to push back on the railroads, including cameras so people can see where trains are as they move through the area.
  • Super Neighborhood 64 & 88, Greater Eastwood, Lawndale, and Wayside: work with the ECA Trains Committee and share that information with elected officials and stakeholders to drive positive change.

Projects in the works

  • West Belt Improvement Project: three grade separations, including York Street going under two railroad tracks, plus Commerce Street. In design, with construction slated to start in 2029.
  • Lockwood at the Galveston Subdivision: in preliminary design. The team is pursuing a grant for full design and community engagement through the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant or CRISI (to confirm).
  • Griggs / Mykawa / Long: The City of Houston is focused on a grade separation here to support the SH 35 project in South Union.
  • Milby High School Pedestrian Bridge: slated for completion by January 2027.
  • East End RAILS study: a study to identify and prioritize rail and crossing improvements in the East End Triangle. 

What is the UP-NS Merger?

Union Pacific runs the trains in the western half of the country. Norfolk Southern runs the trains in the eastern half. They want to join together into one giant railroad that reaches coast to coast, the first of its kind.

The railroads are making the case that this is for operational efficiency. If they become one set, trains can run all the way across without stopping to trade. The companies say that means faster trains and fewer handoffs.

Here is the worry for the East End. One bigger railroad can send more and longer trains through our neighborhoods, with more cars and trucks waiting at our crossings. With less competition, there is also less pressure on the railroad to fix the problems we already have.

Where it stands now: the merger is proposed, not approved. The federal Surface Transportation Board is reviewing it; the railroads are due to provide more information by late July 2026, and the companies say they hope to close in early 2027. There is still time for communities to weigh in.

What about legislation?

The railroads are regulated by the federal government, so the change that would make the biggest difference is federal legislation. Many bills have been introduced in both the US House and the US Senate. Each time, the railroad lobby has worked to stop them in committee before they reach a vote. Proposals have included, but are not limited to:

  • Regulating train length.
  • Requiring railroads to share schedules with first responders.
  • Public train tracking, similar to how flights are tracked.
  • Regulating train horns in urban areas.
  • Holding railroads accountable when a derailment happens.
  • Requiring railroads to share what they are carrying through communities, and to give that information to first responders during a derailment.
  • Fines for blocking crossings, with higher fines for those near schools.

The takeaway: local fixes help and matter, and lasting change at scale will require action from Congress.

Common myths

Myth: Trains cannot stop for more than 10 minutes. There are no rules about this. Right now, trains can stop as long as they want. There are no laws against stopping on the tracks. The tracks are their right-of-way.

Myth: The city can cite the railroads for blocking roads. See above. The tracks are their right-of-way. The railroads are protected by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1896. Cities that have passed their own ordinances have been challenged by the railroads, and those cases are working their way through the courts.

Safety Reminders

  • Never drive around lowered gates. Trains are wider than the tracks and closer than they look.
  • Never walk under, over, or between stopped rail cars. A stopped train can move at any time with no warning.
  • Cross only at marked crossings. Walking the tracks is trespassing on railroad property, and it is dangerous.
  • Treat every track as a live track. Trains do not run on a fixed public schedule.
  • If a vehicle stalls on the tracks, get everyone out and away at an angle toward the train, then call 911 and the Union Pacific emergency number posted on the blue sign.

Helpful facts to know

  • HGAC predicts freight train traffic will increase by more than 200% by 2050. That is 25 years out, which is short for infrastructure design and construction.
  • TxDOT Houston Beaumont Study suggests that Houston’s economic impact from stopped trains is $2.6billion
  • A single grade separation can cost $40 million, with most costing over $100 million. An underpass often costs over $150 million, and it can take years to build once funding is secured.
  • 40% of the region’s freight flows through the 16 square miles of the East End. 
  • Union Pacific owns 95% of the trackage rights in Houston. The remaining is Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF). The Port has Port Terminal Railroad Authority (PTRA) – the blue engines – but only within the Port before handing off to UP or BNSF. 
  • Rice University Professor and Transportation expert Christof Spieler notes there is a 600% increase in train volume on a network over 100 years old.
  • In a 2023 Surface Transportation Board hearing about the CPKC merger, Chicago was quoted: “We don’t want to be another Houston”

The trains have been here first; if you don’t like them, move. 

We hear this often, and it deserves a clear answer.

First, the timeline is not that simple. Some rail lines are old, but many East End neighborhoods were settled before the yards and the heavy traffic that surrounds them today. In plenty of cases, the people were here first.

Second, today’s trains are not the trains of decades past. For years, federal rules limited train length and supported operations that kept the network fluid. Railroads now largely operate under a model called Precision Scheduled Railroading, adopted across the industry by around 2020, which favors longer trains and leaner crews to increase per-train profits. Rising volume from the port piles on more traffic. The results show up at our crossings as longer blockages, more derailment risk, and fewer ways for residents to get relief.

Third, accountability runs one way. There is no federal requirement for railroads to report blocked crossings, so the reporting tools depend on residents, not the companies. At the same time, federal law dating to the Interstate Commerce Act preempts cities from enforcing their own anti-blocking ordinances. Residents are told to move, leaving them with almost no legal recourse.

Fourth, this is a public safety and equity issue, not a personal preference. The East End files more blocked-crossing complaints than any neighborhood in the country. Blocked crossings delay ambulances, fire trucks, and children walking to school, and they fall hardest on historically underserved communities that were placed next to heavy industry by earlier policy and often cannot simply pick up and leave. The Fifth Ward / Kashmere Gardens cancer cluster is part of the same story.

Why this matters

Freight rail is part of Houston’s economy, and it is not going away. The East End helps move freight for the entire country. That is exactly why the railroads should be held accountable to be good stewards of the neighborhoods they run through. “If you don’t like it, move” dismisses a documented safety problem and lets the railroads off the hook for the harm their current operations cause.

Who to call and when

ProblemWhere to report
Immediate danger (car stuck on tracks, person on tracks, crash)Call 911, then Union Pacific emergency at 888-877-7267
Signal or crossing arms are malfunctioningBlue sign number with the crossing ID, or 888-848-8715 (option 2)
The stopped train is blocking a crossingFRA Blocked Crossings portal at fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings (you can report up to 7 days back). 
High vegetation, encampments on or by the tracks, illegal dumping, damaged crossingsup.com/communities/notify-union-pacific
Other railroadsBNSF 800-832-5452, Port Terminal Railroad Association (PTRA) 713-393-6509

Reporting blocked crossings to the FRA matters. That data supports grants and infrastructure projects, and the railroads are not required to share their own numbers.

Key terms

  • Grade separation: a bridge or underpass that carries the road over or under the tracks so cars and trains never meet at the same level.
  • At-grade crossing: a place where the road and the tracks cross at the same level, controlled by gates and lights.
  • Quiet zone: a federally approved corridor where trains do not routinely sound horns, made possible by added safety improvements.
  • Yard: where trains are assembled, parked, and sorted. The Union Pacific Englewood Yard sits at the edge of the East End.
  • Junction: where two rail lines meet. Trains often wait for clearance to pass through.
  • Right of way: the strip of land the railroad owns and controls. The tracks are railroad property.
  • Z train: an Amazon train that gets priority moving out of the port, so other trains wait for it.
  • ENS / blue sign: the Emergency Notification System number is posted on the blue sign at each crossing, with a crossing ID for reporting problems.
  • CIP: the city’s 5-year Capital Improvement Plan, the schedule that funds and builds major projects.
  • RCE Grant / CRISI: federal grant programs (Railroad Crossing Elimination and Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) that fund crossing and rail projects.

What can you do?

The railroad situation is difficult to fix, and it will take a long time. Steady pressure from residents is what moves it forward. Here is where you can start:

Stay informed. Use the City’s Train Watch map at houstontx.gov/trainwatch to see crossing status, and keep sharing what you see with the groups gathering the data.

Report blocked crossings. This builds the data officials need to make the case for change. Report to the FRA portal at fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings, and note the crossing ID, date, time, and how long it was blocked.

Educate your neighbors. Sharing why the trains stop and what to do builds the network we need to make change. The more people who report and speak up, the louder the message.

Advocate. Tell your elected officials what you want to see, and ask for it directly:

City of Houston: quiet zones in your area.

City of Houston, County, and State officials: safe passage around the trains, including funding for grade separations and pedestrian crossings.

Federal (US House and Senate): legislation that keeps the railroads accountable and keeps the network fluid, so trains stop blocking our crossings.

Weigh in on the UP-NS merger. The merger is under federal review right now. The public can submit comments to the Surface Transportation Board in the merger proceeding (Docket No. FD 36873) at stb.gov, and the Board will hold at least 12 in-person public meetings as part of its environmental review. Ask for real conditions that protect the East End if the merger moves forward. *If you want help with this, let us know right away

Get involved with local groups. Join your local civic groups. They consolidate resident information and carry it to officials. We are happy to help guide and educate. 

Show up. Attend city council, Gulf Coast Rail District, and county meetings where rail safety and funding are decided. Public turnout signals that this is a priority.