For years, residents of One Riverside, a large apartment complex located at 210 S 25^th St, have complained about noise pollution created by the CSX freight railroad that lies between the building and the Schuylkill River. CSX, one of the largest rail companies in North America, owns roughly half of the freight lines on the East Coast. On April 30^th, a community meeting was held at the Ethical Society building adjacent to Rittenhouse Square to discuss potential solutions to the noise issue; in attendance were several dozen residents of One Riverside and other nearby buildings (such as Rivers Edge and Locust on the Park) as well as representatives from the Center City Residents’ Association (CCRA) and representatives of Senator Bob Casey, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, and Mayor Cherelle Parker.

To begin the meeting, CCRA Government Relations Committee member Matthew Fontana gave some background on previous negotiations between CSX and the City. In 2007, Fitler Square residents asked CSX to build overpasses over the railroad so that pedestrians could safely cross the tracks. CSX refused, so residents asked the Mayor’s office to take action, resulting in a lawsuit against CSX. In April 2007, the case was seen by a federal judge, and the two sides eventually settled on a consensus decree, a type of settlement which resolves a dispute without admission of liability from either party. CSX agreed to construct the overpasses, and the matter was settled for the time being.

However, another dispute arose when CSX began to schedule crew changes for their trains while the trains were directly adjacent to One Riverside and the Schuylkill River Park. These crew changes are the source of the noise complaints: as Fontana explained, it is in the company’s “operational interest” to leave the trains running while awaiting a crew change, because if the trains were to be shut off, the new crew would be required to perform safety checks on the entire length of the train before turning it back on. While awaiting the crew change, the CSX trains often spend “days at a time” idling on the tracks.

In 2017, CCRA commissioned a noise pollution study to better understand the issues caused by the trains idling. The study found that the level of noise could reach up to 100 decibels, equivalent to a loud concert or a helicopter taking off. These levels of noise were “often sustained for up to 36 hours at a time.” A complaint was lodged to CSX by the City government, and for a time, the locations of crew changes were shifted to avoid the Schuylkill River Park area. But in 2022, for unknown reasons, the change was reverted, and the noise issues began once more.

Multiple Fitler Square residents were given the opportunity to speak at the meeting. One resident, Celeste Simon, said that she moved to One Riverside in 2017, seeing the building as “an urban oasis.” Everything was “perfect” until July 2022, when CSX relocated the crew changes back to the Schuylkill Banks. Since then, Simon shared, “there are often up to six locomotives idling” for long periods of time. She emphasized that this issue affects not only residents of One Riverside, but also anybody who enjoys Schuylkill River Park.

Samir, another resident of One Riverside, spoke about how the noise issues have affected his family. One of his three children is on the autism spectrum and struggles with “sensory sensitivity.” This sensitivity can lead to issues with sleep; Samir stated that due to the idling trains, his son needs to “wear noise-cancelling headphones in order to sleep.” The impact of the noise pollution has led to issues with the child’s attendance and performance in school.

Later in the meeting, another One Riverside resident played several audio recordings of the noises created by the idling trains. Several attendees remarked that the noise was even louder in person, with one resident standing up to exclaim, “In real life, it’s way louder than that!” Other residents clarified that they did not mind the noises of trains going by, but the constant idling was a major source of frustration; one speaker remarked, “We all agreed to purchase an apartment by the train tracks, not a trainyard,” and another elaborated, “They’re using the tracks as a trainyard just to save money.”

In closing remarks, Fontana assured the audience that there is a concrete plan to address residents’ concerns. According to him, an article of the 2007 consensus decree states that CSX must work with the City government to negotiate locations for crew changes. Christopher Johnson, a representative of Senator Bob Casey, affirmed that “there’s a lot of value in these personal stories and testimonies,” and seemed very confident that the issue would be addressed. Dillon Mahoney, legislative director for Council President Kenyatta Johnson, stated that “[Johnson] wants to do everything possible to address these quality-of-life issues.”