Bellingham working to establish city’s second railroad quiet zone
Work is moving forward on a second railroad “quiet zone” through Bellingham, where locomotive engineers won’t be required to sound their horns.
Construction is set to start next year on the Pine Street crossing near the south end of Cornwall Avenue as part of the city’s “waterfront district” quiet zone, Public Works Department spokesman Connor Harron told The Herald.
“Before a quiet zone can be established, all the crossings within the zone must be constructed to quiet zone standards. Meeting these standards requires installing a system of devices and completing roadway construction at each crossing, which is often expensive. Until the waterfront quiet zone is officially established, federal regulations require BNSF conductors to sound train horns at all intersections where roads and railroad tracks cross on the same level, regardless of the time of day,” Harron said in an email.
Bellingham’s waterfront quiet zone has six crossings through downtown and runs past the Old Town, Lettered Streets and Columbia neighborhoods on its way north.
Once the Pine Street crossing is complete, only the Central Street and Cornwall Avenue crossings remain. That work depends on future funding.
Efforts at the Pine Street crossing are expected to cost about $3.4 million, funded with $950,000 in federal grants and a combination of Transportation Funds, Real Estate Excise Tax funds, and Greenways Program funds, Harron said.
“This project includes comprehensive gate upgrades, vehicle travel lane channelization, as well as the establishment of a shared-use path connection adjacent to Wharf Street between the South Bay Trail and the waterfront district,” Harron said.
Local governments are responsible for the cost of quiet zone infrastructure and must coordinate construction with the railroad.
Bellingham recently qualified for a quiet zone through Fairhaven, and Whatcom County completed work several years ago for a quiet zone along the Chuckanut waterfront north of Larrabee State Park.
According to federal rules, engineers normally are required to sound their horn when a train approaches a crossing. But so-called quiet zones add safety improvements to those crossings, allowing engineers to use their horns less frequently.
Safety additions at the crossings include extra signs, flashing signals, automated crossing gates that keep pedestrians and vehicles off of the tracks when a train is approaching or passing, and pedestrian exit gates.
Amtrak, which leases the tracks from BNSF, makes four daily runs through Bellingham. BNSF averages 13 trains daily — seven during the day and six at night — according to records filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Bellingham began looking at quiet zones almost 20 years ago, after residents near the tracks complained about noise, especially at night.
About five years ago, Whatcom County completed quiet zone work and received federal approval in residential neighborhoods along Cliffside Drive at the north end of Bellingham Bay, and Cove Road near Chuckanut Drive north of Larrabee State Park, according to previous Herald reporting.
This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 5:20 AM.
