[yibg]

The Caltrain (and other trains but Caltrain is more frequent) going by San Mateo is brutal. Their horn is almost constantly on due to the many ground level intersections and they are ear drum busting loud (by regulation no less).

[Symbiote]

That seems excessive (from a YouTube video).

In Britain, within towns there's usually gates on either side of the road, so it's not necessary for the train to use its horn.

https://youtu.be/uaWG04vKYLg

[closeparen]

Areas where every level crossing is this good can be designated as quiet zones, but few municipalities want to spend the money on that. Train tracks are usually in industrial/commercial areas; homes near them are, shall we say, not centers of political power.

[yibg]

I don’t know. I wouldn’t call downtown San Mateo and Burlingame either industrial zones or far away from political influence.

[yibg]

There are gates in San Mateo but they still blast their horns. I believe minimum of 96 decibels at 100 feet is required.

[staticassertion]

Yeah, I do imagine it depends a lot on where you are. Even a few blocks from here the Caltrain can get much louder.