Railroad Crossing Study | St. Louis Park, MN

St. Louis Park, MN

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Railroad Crossing Study

Oct. 24, 2025

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In late October, staff from Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railroad, the Federal Rail Authority, MNDOT Office of Rail Safety, the City of St. Louis Park and our consultant firm conducted a comprehensive field review of all CPKC railroad crossings in St. Louis Park. The purpose of these site visits was to evaluate each crossing and develop recommendations for physical infrastructure improvements that may be necessary to meet the requirements for establishing a railroad quiet zone.

The study is expected to be completed by summer 2026.

Overview

In May 2025, engineering department has begun a railroad crossing study for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railway. The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railway (sometimes called the “Dan Patch line”) runs north-south through St. Louis Park, as well as other metro communities.

Staff have engaged SRF Consulting Group to conduct a study that will identify the infrastructure improvements and associated costs needed to implement a quiet zone. A quiet zone is a specific area near railway tracks where trains are not required to blow their horns.

Even with the study being undertaken, it’s important to understand the following:

The designation of quiet zones is a lengthy process, likely to take at least two years to study and longer to implement.
Not all crossings may be deemed feasible to convert to quiet zones. Those crossings would then be recommended for closure, which means they would be closed to all pedestrian, bicycle and vehicles traffic.
The cost to implement crossing improvements will be significant. The city’s Capital Improvement Plan will need to be amended to include this project and a funding source identified.

Background

Trains are required by the federal government to sound their locomotive horns at all at-grade railroad crossings and when unsafe situations are present near the railroad. The horns are sounded regardless of the time of day.

St. Louis Park has a long history with freight rail trains transporting goods through the community. Three railroads traverse the city: Burlington Northern/Santa Fe (BNSF), Twin Cities and Western (TC&W) and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).

BNSF doesn't have any at-grade crossings and, therefore, only sounds horns when a safety issue is present near the tracks.
TC&W is co-located with the Green Line Light Rail Extension. Recent light rail crossing improvements have created a corridor that won't require horns to be sounded, once the light rail is operational.
The CPKC railroad has 14 at-grade crossings that require horns to be sounded at each crossing.

In late summer 2024, CPKC trains began traveling overnight on this track. The city heard from some residents who were understandably disturbed by the overnight train horns, along with the train noise itself. City staff contacted CPKC, which shared that CPKC trains are traveling this line on a nighttime schedule to best meet customer and operational needs. Further, CPKC has no current plans to return to a daytime schedule for this line.

While we understand this is a new and unwelcome disruption, neither the city nor the state has the authority to tell the railroad when or how they can operate.

Why a railroad crossing study

The city is completing a railroad crossing study because:

The city wanted to be responsive to recent resident concerns about overnight train noise.
Resident concerns may be long-term, given CPKC’s plans to continue with overnight trains due to their customer and operational needs, and their required compliance with federal safety protocols.

Federal train horn rules

Railroads are regulated at the federal level, including a safety regulation requiring crews to sound locomotive horns at crossings. Learn more about the Federal Railroad Administration’s safety protocols.

Federal regulations have a process for communities to partner with the railroad to greatly reduce the frequency of train horns, referred to as quiet zones, while maintaining safety compliance.

How to have your voice heard

Community members with questions may contact CPKC Community Connect customer service at 1.800.766.7912 or communityconnect@cpkcr.com.

Public engagement