MERIDEN-- Some residents near a rail line said a new warning system is too loud and goes off too often.
These automated horns warn when trains are passing through near Cooper St. in Meriden.
Sarah Marnalse lives next to the tracks and said, “It’s like an alarm clock and I wake up every time, the go off at 10, 11, 1, 2, 3.”
Marnalse said her and other neighbors problem isn't with the sound of the train whistle, but the blaring warning horns.
The alert system was installed in January and Marnalse said it's been a pain for her family.
Marnalse explained, “Well I have two children, I have a newborn he wakes up a lot from it, my son.. it’s hot and he can’t open up his window because it is so loud that when you do it wakes up the whole house.”
She also went on to say it affects her job at Czapiga.
Marnalse said, “I know for Easter time that just passed they were like.. oh that’s loud. We had the door open, in and out We had to be like hold on so we can hear their order.”
We reached out to the Department of Transportation and have not heard back at this time.
A previous press release noted the horns are loudest within a 250-foot perimeter and directed toward the roadway to alert motorists and pedestrians to a train.
Other residents said the horns don't bother them as much as others, but for those who find the noise a nuisance, they said they may have to leave.
Marnalse said there has to be another way to alert residents a train is passing through.
Marnalse said, “They need to either get the system working correctly or go back to the original, regular horn because it’s out of control.”
The Department of Transportation plans to install more horns along the Hartford Rail Line.