Many University of Michigan students and Ann Arbor residents understand the feeling of train whistles waking them up in the middle of the night. More than a simple disturbance, loud nighttime noises can lead not only to disrupted sleep, but also chronic health issues including heart disease and anxiety.
As the University finalizes construction of the Wolverine Village, a new residence hall opening in fall 2026, 2,300 students are expected to move into the new dormitory bordering the Ann Arbor Railroad line. Freight trains typically make about one round trip through Ann Arbor per day, but their schedules can vary from late into the evening to the middle of the night.
The city of Ann Arbor has extensive noise control ordinances, but train whistles are exempt because they act as safety warnings to pedestrians and motorists. Ann Arbor previously had an ordinance banning nighttime train whistles, but the city repealed it in 1994 despite no recorded rail accidents…