Metro North and MTA win summary judgement in lawsuit filed by local residents hoping to abate train noise from the Croton-Harmon Yards.
Idling locomotives at all hours of the night have long been an alleged source of sleep loss and other health effects among many Croton and Ossining residents.
Soon after the organization Neighbors Opposing Noise and three Ossining residents filed suit in the Westchester County branch of New York Supreme Court against Metro North and the MTA in October 2023, the Chronicle began following the case. The plaintiffs allege that the railroad has refused to take any serious measures to abate the noise from the Croton-Harmon rail yard, which they claim has caused considerable suffering to them and other local residents.
As one of the plaintiffs wrote in an affidavit for the case:
“The noise is typically constant, but the noise increases in the evenings and climaxes near the middle of the night, commonly around 2 AM. It then rages through the night until approximately 5 AM at the earliest, and often continues throughout the following day. I have experienced continual headaches, constant ringing in my ears (tinnitus), anxiety, insomnia, changes to my mood, and inability to focus on work throughout the day…”
The Chronicle has since talked to many other residents of both Croton and Ossining, some of whom are bothered by the noise and some not, or not excessively. It seems to depend on a resident’s exact location—the hilly nature of our area leads to various echoes and reflected sound—and the degree of soundproofing of their homes. The noise also varies depending upon the season: In winter, according to railroad policy, diesel locomotives must be allowed to idle for longer periods of time before being put into service.
Both sides have offered expert testimony in the case, and legal discovery has produced thousands of pages of documents as well as sworn depositions from both plaintiffs and defendants. The defendants argue that the noise is not unusual, nor intentional or negligent, but represents the normal operating of a railroad system that has existed at the Croton-Harmon station’s current location since the early 1900s.
There were earlier signs that the judge in the case, Alexandra D. Murphy, might not buy the plaintiffs’ arguments. In April 2024 she denied their motion for a preliminary injunction against the railroad operators against excessive noise. Then, in July 2025, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgement in the case, asking that it be thrown out entirely.
The legal rules for granting a motion of summary judgement are normally very strict. They require that there no longer be any issues of fact for a jury to decide, but only matters of law, which are the domain of a judge. The judge is also required to look most favorably upon the parties opposing the summary judgement motion, which in this case were the affected neighbors and the organization they have formed, Neighbors Opposing Noise.
Today, January 13, Judge Murphy ruled on the motion, deciding in favor of the railroad defendants and dismissing the lawsuit. In doing so, Murphy declared that there were no factual issues to be resolved, but only their legal interpretation. In a four page Decision & Order explaining her reasoning, the judge stated that “the plaintiffs have failed to establish that the defendants’ alleged conduct is negligent or reckless in nature,” adding that the evidence supporting negligence in particular is “speculative at best.”
Metro-North and MTA, in their motion for summary judgement, had even claimed that the plaintiffs did not really know the source of the noise that was bothering them, a contested interpretation of their deposition testimony that Murphy seems to have accepted at face value in her decision.
Todd Ommen, the Managing Attorney of Pace Law School’s Environmental Litigation Clinic, who is representing the neighbors, told the Chronicle that “We are disappointed in the result, and we plan to file a file an appeal.”
The Chronicle will continue to cover the lawsuit through the appeals process.
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I'm in Harmon and the train sounds are not bothersome nor loud where I live. I have empathy for those who suffer. Maybe MTA/Metro-North can't remedy the noise, but I take issue with the Judge's acceptance of the defendants' contention that the plaintiffs don't definitively know the source of the noise that was bothering them. It seems sensible that people who are near enough or situated such that they hear trains idling, know very well what the source is. Makes me wonder about her neutrality.
This is unfortunate, but not surprising. I can hear the noise constantly where I’m located, but you do get used to it. When I was younger and visited a friend in Mt. Airy, the night sound was vastly more quiet and you wouldn’t hear it at all. It was nice. I feel the same in town. But in Harmon, it’s noticeable.