There are train tracks less than 100 feet away from one of the dorm complexes here at Nebraska: Here a campus
map to demonstrate my point.
Occasionally from the opposite edge of campus, where my house is (like 8 blocks away) I can hear the train but the conditions have to be right. I know that the residents in those dorms have to deal with trains at all times of the night, which would absolutely suck. I don't really know what to tell you.