Sleepless In Arvada: New G Line Testing Is 'Ridiculous'
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) – Mark Hall hasn't had a solid night sleep in weeks due to loud train horns blaring almost around the clock.
"Even with the windows closed I can hear them," he said. "It's really loud!"
Just a few hundred feet from Hall's downtown Arvada apartment, RTD is testing its new G Line. Day and night, the train blares its horn at crossings.
"They blow the horn for one whole minute, and it's just ridiculous," Hall told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann.
Testing of the newest commuter rail line is in its final stages. In an effort to accelerate the testing process, more trains have been added and travel the 11 miles between downtown Denver and Wheat Ridge up to 24 hours a day. With it comes more loud train horns heard by people living and working in the area.
"We fully understand that this is loud," RTD spokesman Scott Reed said. "Hopefully we'll be able to, in the not-too-distant future, have completely quiet train operations unless there is a safety issue."
Reed told CBS4 they've received several calls and comments about the testing process, including many complaints. Yet he also said the agency's hands are tied. Sounding the horn as the train passes through intersections is a federal requirement, Reed explained, and they have to keep doing so until the Colorado Public Utilities Commission certifies the crossings.
RELATED: CBS4 G Line Story Archive
"Until we get all this completed, we simply won't have the ability to even apply for the quiet zone,"Reed said. "So, it's kind of like you've got some pain now for some gain later."
Hall said he is trying to keep in mind the eventual 'gain' of having a commuter rail close to home, but the 'pain' of a noisy neighbor is making that tough.
"It's just so loud," he said.
Reed said there is no estimated timeline when the testing could wrap up and when a quiet zone could be enforced.
LINK: RTD Commuter Line Testing Process
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team as the morning reporter in 2012. After serving as weekend morning anchor, Kelly is now Covering Colorado First for CBS4 News at 10. Connect with Kelly on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @KellyCBS4.
