[Winona] trains and more trains

[Chris Nelson]

I must say I wasn't shocked when I found out the Surface Transportation Board won't being holding DM and E responsible for noise abatement issues and the building of under and over passes in Winona. With the potential for 30 odd trains coming through Winona and with each train having more than 100 cars to it, I could see Winona being cut in half for a majority of the day.  Rather than saying you life in the East End of town or the West End people might end up saying they live north or south of the tracks.   Emergency services will be greatly hampered with the increase of train traffic.  I can see the need for an ambulance garage south of the tracks and increasing fire personnel at the West Station.  With the new federal guidelines concerning the lay out of train tracks and roadway intersections, I would imagine trains will start blowing their whistles unless the intersections are fixed to meet the guidelines. With all the intersections Winona has and how far away a train has to start blowing its whistle before it gets to an intersection, there will be a lot more noise by the tracks and throughout the town which will in turn cause the quality of life to go down.   What can this group do to make the Federal Government hear our concerns?  In light of this set back, does the city have any realistic hopes that the Federal Government will step in and help us out?  Is the city going to start the process for the construction of the over and under passes, or will it wait to see what the Feds are willing to do?   Chris