(Mario Jarjour/WBZ NewsRadio)
HAVERHILL, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — People who live in the Bradford section of Haverhill say they're frustrated by noise pollution from a nearby MBTA railyard and the idling trains there.
A train has to be kept at a certain temperature, so it has to be idled to keep the engine warm, typically when temperatures are near-freezing as they have been overnight lately.
But the trains don't purr like a Ferrari—they shake, roar, and blow fumes.
Joe Zapella's home is a stone's throw away from the railyard. He told WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal all the commotion affects his home. He said he doesn't mind trains going through, but the idling bothers him.
"Some are quiet, some aren't," Zapella said. "It's something, they say 'We really can't do anything about it.' Well, no matter how you look at it, it still affects our quality of life."
Another resident, Zach, lives about a block from the facility.
"The air quality really goes down, the noise pollution is horrible," he said. "I get it, sometimes you gotta run a train, back it up and all that. But then, all of a sudden at the crack of dawn, they'll go on. Or, on Friday, they'll turn it on, and it'll stay on."
The neighborhood was there before the layover station, owned by the MBTA and operated as a repair center.
Keolis, the operator of the MBTA's Commuter Rail, said they've taken steps to try to minimize idling, like using equipment that only turns the trains on when it gets to a certain temperature.
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WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports