I doubt you could break your lease for them calling it "quiet" but maybe. If you were going to pursue that you should probably consult with a lawyer and check up on the local housing rules (especially those that allow for "quiet enjoyment") that apply to you. I'd be afraid the judge would point out that you should have checked to see where the complex was situated before entering into a legal contract to live there. It's probably easier to just move when the lease is up.

Also - this is probably not the sort of thing you want to hear, but you can get used to living in that sort of location. It sounded like you were describing my complex. The building i live in is right next to a busy rail line (in fact there is a switching station right on the other side of the parking lot which means traincars banging into each other among other loud noises and vibrations). In addition, our complex is under one of the approaches used to get to Tampa International a few blocks away. Low flying planes are very noisy, and the air corridor above us is high traffic. You do have to occasionally pause a conversation or program when it's especially noisy, but for the most part it fades into the background after you live with it for awhile. And as noises go, i'd much rather have this type of impersonal, environmental noise than the sort of noise i've always had before from other people's bass, arguments, banging, stomping etc that always bleeds through from other apartments. Of course, the neighbors here aren't any quieter than my old neighbors, but the airport and train traffic mean that there is a lot of white noise to disguise the neighbor noise. And the well landscaped grounds really do make me feel good. Maybe if you give it a chance you might find it's not so bad. :p

This is true, I lived less than a block away from a NYC (LIRR) commuter train line. It didn't really bother me at all. (There were other noises in the neighborhood and the building that bothered me far more.)

I have been told by family and friends that you do get used to it and for the most part we have. I used to live near an international airport and after a year or so we got used to the planes taking off every few minutes but this railroad situation wouldn't be so bad if it were not for the fact that there is a crossing very close by and the trains honk those loud horns at ALL hours of the day and night. I know it's a legal thing but man when you hear that train really laying on that horn at 4 in the morning and it wakes you up....I seriously feel that every night I sleep in 3 hour segments rather than a solid 8. Only time I have had good sleep is when I've spent the night elsewhere.

Well here is an update on my little drama about my trains and the pains of trains.

We were already searching for another apartment to move to when our lease was up in May. There were less expensive places that we found but they were 15 miles away. I forgot to mention in my original posting that both my fiance and I work at the same place and we literaly live across the street from where we work so the commute couldn't be easier. Anyways, after careful consideration we deciced to move to the other end of the apartment complex, the furthest area you can be from the railroad. I've already spoken to some of the residents in that building and they say that you don't really hear the trains inside once the door is closed. We also found out that they are building a bridge so that the road goes OVER the tracks, this eliminating the need for a crossing and no more horn blowing. So, we are staying. It just makes more sense to stay in the same complex and save all that time, money and hassle of moving.

Good luck. Hopefully you'll find that it isn't as bad as you had feared.