Is a train horn louder than a gunshot?

As you saw from the DJD Labs test above, actual huge cast-metal locomotive horns top out at 149.4 decibels. Do you think a little electric horn or air horn can do more than 150 decibels? To put things in perspective, a firecracker or a shot from a rifle is around 150 decibels.



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The rule mandates when locomotive engineers sound horns — at least 15, but no more than 20 seconds, in advance of all public crossings; how they're sounded — in a pattern of two long, one short, one long blast; and how loud the horns are — between 96 and 110 decibels.

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Its primary purpose is to alert persons and animals to an oncoming train, especially when approaching a level crossing. They are often extremely loud, allowing them to be heard from great distances. They are also used for acknowledging signals given by railroad employees, such as during switching operations.

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In addition, exposure to impulse noise (abrupt high intensity sounds of short duration [e.g., whistles, horns, cannon blasts, fireworks]) should never exceed a peak sound pressure of 140 dB peak in adults, and 120 dB in children.

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Anyway, don't blame the engineer: They're required to blow that horn. The regulation in question is called the Final Rule on the Use of Locomotive Horns—a name that strongly implies they've had just about enough of your bitching—and it requires four blasts 15 to 20 seconds before every crossing.

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The reason that trains honk their horns so much at night is because it's dark and the trains aren't so easy to see. Even though the lights are on, we sometimes can't see them coming, especially around the many blind curves near or ahead of the train station.

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The intensity of sound will vary at night, sometimes louder and sometimes softer. It has to do with the height and strength of a temperature inversion just above the ground. On clear, calm nights, it is cooler at the ground than higher up.

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While owning and installing an aftermarket air horn or train horn is not illegal, some states have periodic inspections that your vehicle has to pass.

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This rule applies 24 hours a day, even if a crossing is equipped with lights, bells and crossing gates. Train crews also may deem it necessary to sound a horn as a warning when there is a vehicle, person or animal near the tracks.

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Reduced traffic: During the nighttime, there is generally less road traffic and fewer other trains on the tracks. This allows trains to move more efficiently and with fewer delays, as they encounter fewer obstacles and can maintain a consistent speed.

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If you hear, two small horns, it means the motorman is asking the guard to direct the railway signal to start the train. In case you hear three smaller horns, it suggests that the motorman has lost control over the train. This also acts as a signal to pull the vacuum break immediately. This signal is rarely heard.

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By 1938, the Association of American Railroads had adopted the long-long-short-long signal for rail crossings. But whatever the horn pattern, the goal is to warn people well in advance that a train is coming. In 2021, 236 people were killed at highway-rail grade crossings in the US.

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Have you ever thought why trains blow their horns so often and so loudly? The truth is that they have to. And the main reason for that is safety. Locomotive engineers are required to honk every now and then, which is written down in the regulations called the Final Rule on the Use of Locomotive Horns.

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In a quiet zone, railroads have been directed to cease the routine sounding of their horns when approaching public highway-rail grade crossings. Train horns may still be used in emergency situations or to comply with other Federal regulations or railroad operating rules.

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