East Taunton residents urge Taunton officials to press MBTA and CSX for noise, idling and safety fixes

Dozens of Taunton residents urged the city on Oct. 21 to press the MBTA and CSX for operational changes at the South Coast Rail East Taunton station, saying frequent horn blasts, long idling periods and loose freight-car debris have reduced their quality of life.

“Kathleen Olsen, 294 Plain Street, said she wanted ‘no trains after 11 p.m.’ and asked the city to request sound barriers and other mitigations to curb what she described as persistent horn blasts and vibrations that shake windows,” Olsen said during the public-input period. “We have suffered loss of sleep and loss of peace and quiet.”

Cheryl Montero (55 Deborah Drive) told the council trains are arriving early and idling at the station for “up to an hour,” producing fumes and vibrations she said are disturbing residents and may have health consequences. “This is beep beep beep…