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For full context, see here:
<https://www.docdroid.net/XIK9pCk/img-20171020-0001-new.pdf>

The sentence in question, taken from line 9 -11: マンションのドアを開けたり閉めたりする音や
**鳴りっぱなしの踏切** 、しゃべる自動販売機、つけっぱなしのテレビ、駅のアナウンスなどが、初めは本当にうるさくてたまらなかった。

My attempt at translation: "Concerning the first time, it truly was annoying
and unbearable, the opening and closing the condominium sound (=the sound of
opening and closing the condominium) and not-stopping-to-ring railroad
crossings, talking vending machines, non-stop engaged televisions and
announcements of stations (=announcements on stations)."

I just learned about the っぱなし constructions and still struggle a little to
translate them into well readable english. However, my main "issue" lies with
the bold 鳴りっぱなしの踏切. Is my translation of this phrase correct? I've never been
to japan, do the railroad crossings really constantly ring there? Or do they
emit another type of signal, like "blinking"?
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Is "railroad crossing" meant with 踏切 here?
Yes, it means railway crossing.

When a train approaches, a rhythmic ringing sound like a chime is emitted from
the crossing, and the gates come down automatically. The sound keeps going
until the train has passed and the gates lift. In Japanese, people often
describe the sound as こんこん to mimic the rhythm of the ringing/chiming sound.

By the way, the translation of 鳴りっぱなしの踏切 as "not-stopping-to-ring railroad
crossings" is strange. Better just to say something simple like "the constant
ringing of the railway crossing" or "the non-stop chiming of the railway
crossing bell".
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# English

> Is “railroad crossing” meant with 踏切｛ふみきり｝ here?

Yes, but if I say exactly the meaning of "踏切｛ふみきり｝" in "鳴｛な｝りっぱなしの踏切｛ふみきり｝",
it is "踏切｛ふみきり｝の警報音{けいほうおん} _sound of the warning signal of the railroad
crossing (of Japan)_ ".

> マンションのドアを開｛あ｝けたり閉｛し｝めたりする音｛おと｝や **鳴｛な｝りっぱなし**
> の踏切｛ふみきり｝、しゃべる自動｛じどう｝販売機｛はんばいき｝、つけっぱなしのテレビ、駅｛えき｝のアナウンスなどが、初｛はじ｝めは本当｛ほんとう｝にうるさくてたまらなかった。

When I read the [original
text](https://www.docdroid.net/XIK9pCk/img-20171020-0001-new.pdf) presented by
the questioner (OP), I can say that the above sentence posted by OP was told
by a wife from a certain quiet country who had been living in the city of
Japan for a somewhat long time.

The sentence presented by OP is an impression of a person who had come to
Japan from abroad this time, but this expression is similar to the body of a
novel which is expressed as summarized as " **都会｛とかい｝の喧騒｛けんそう｝** _the hustle
and bustle of a city_ or _the characteristic noises of big cities_ ", where
people express the feeling being disgusted to the urban life at the noise.

When interpreting "鳴りっぱなしの踏切" literally, it becomes "a railroad crossing where
the alarm does not stop ringing" because the trains go continually just like
the crossing called "開かずの踏切 _a railroad crossing whose gate never to open_ "
introduced by naruto's comment. However, judging from the whole sentence
presented by OP, it is not literally like "the railroad crossing where the
alarm sounds forever", but I think it is "the railroad crossing where the
traffic of the trains are so frequent that the alarm sounds constantly or so
often but you feel as if the alarm sounded forever."

# EDIT

> I've never been to japan, do the railroad crossings really constantly ring
> there? Or do they emit another type of signal, like "blinking"?

Separately from the answer about "っぱなし" in "鳴りっぱなし", I noticed that I did not
provide information on railroad crossings in Japan to OP. So, I will explain
about railway crossings in Japan based on the sources written at the end of
the explanation and my experience along with the explanation using a picture.

For better understanding of the explanation, I recommend you to look at the
picture below at first, then watch the video and read my explanation.

Grade crossing signals are installed at railway crossings also in Japan. They
are the electronic warning devices for road vehicles.

The basic signal consists of flashing red lights, a crossbuck and a bell,
attached to a mast. Furthermore, except for crossings with a small traffic
volume, striped barriers for the gates are installed. At most crossings, the
signals will activate about 40-50 seconds before the train arrives and about 7
seconds before the gates start to be lowered.

The gates will be fully lowered 15 to 20 seconds before the train arrives. The
gates will rise or the signals will shut off once the end of the train clears
the island circuit.

> ### [Level crossing in Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_crossing)
>
> According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,
> there are in total about 33,300 level crossings (踏切 _fumikiri_ ) in Japan as
> of 2016. These are easily identifiable with their yellow and black
> crossbucks mounted adjacent to the crossing, and newer crossings are often
> paved in green asphalt for easy recognition. Most of these are protected
> with electronic signals (踏切警報機 _fumikiri keihouki_ ) usually equipped with
> alternating flashing red lights, a bell (note: bell is edited by me) and
> yellow-and-black-striped barriers. Many signals are also equipped with signs
> with red LED arrows that indicate the direction of approaching trains.
>
> Similarly to United States school buses, but unlike many other countries,
> all cars and bicycles must stop before proceeding over any level crossing in
> Japan, regardless of whether there are electronic signals, as required by
> the Road Traffic Act. The only exception is if the crossing is additionally
> controlled by a traffic light, called a _fumikiri shingo_ (踏切信号); in this
> case, if the light is green, it is not necessary to stop at the level
> crossing.
>
> On some busy rail lines, especially in urban areas like in Tokyo, Osaka and
> Nagoya, so many trains pass through some level crossings that they are
> almost always closed to vehicular traffic. In some cases, such as the Chūō
> Main Line, more than 50 trains pass in an hour, which equates to only two
> minutes in which vehicles can cross the tracks during that interval, causing
> serious traffic congestion and inconvenience. Many such crossings, known in
> Japanese as _akazu no fumikiri_ (開かずの踏切 _a railway crossing whose gates
> never to open_ ; note: the translation is made by me), have been eliminated
> by grade separating rail lines, generally by moving them onto viaducts
> (高架化{こうかか}) or underground tracks (地下化｛ちかか｝).

Sources:

  * [Railroad crossing video in Japan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9zJO_OouRk)
  * [Grade crossing signals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_crossing_signals) and [踏切警報機｛ふみきりけいほうき｝](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B8%8F%E5%88%87%E8%AD%A6%E5%A0%B1%E6%A9%9F)
  * [Level crossing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_crossing) and [踏切｛ふみきり｝](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B8%8F%E5%88%87)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GUoHh.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GUoHh.jpg)

# 日本語

> Is “railroad crossing” meant with 踏切｛ふみきり｝ here?

はい。しかし、「鳴｛な｝りっぱなしの **踏切｛ふみきり｝**
」の「踏切｛ふみきり｝」の意味｛いみ｝を正確｛せいかく｝に言｛い｝うと、「踏切｛ふみきり｝の警報音｛けいほうおん｝です。

> マンションのドアを開｛あ｝けたり閉｛し｝めたりする音｛おと｝や **鳴｛な｝りっぱなし**
> の踏切｛ふみきり｝、しゃべる自動｛じどう｝販売機｛はんばいき｝、つけっぱなしのテレビ、駅｛えき｝のアナウンスなどが、初｛はじ｝めは本当｛ほんとう｝にうるさくてたまらなかった。

質問者｛しつもんしゃ｝が提示｛ていじ｝した[原文｛げんぶん｝](https://www.docdroid.net/XIK9pCk/img-20171020-0001-new.pdf)を読｛よ｝むと、上記｛じょうき｝の質問｛しつもん｝の文｛ぶん｝は、何｛なん｝らかの理由｛りゆう｝で静｛しず｝かな国｛くに｝から日本｛にほん｝に移｛うつ｝り住｛す｝むようになって相当長｛そうとうなが｝く、しかも都会｛とかい｝に住｛す｝んでいる奥｛おく｝さんの話｛はなし｝だと分｛わ｝かります。

> ### EDIT(文末から移動)
>
>
> 質問者｛しつもんしゃ｝が提示｛ていじ｝した冒頭｛ぼうとう｝の文｛ぶん｝は、今回｛こんかい｝は外国｛がいこく｝から日本｛にほん｝に来｛き｝た人｛ひと｝の感想｛かんそう｝ですが、「
> **都会｛とかい｝の喧騒｛けんそう｝**
> 」に嫌気｛いやけ｝が差｛さ｝した人｛ひと｝が使｛つか｝う感情｛かんじょう｝の表現｛ひょうげん｝として小説｛しょうせつ｝の中｛なか｝によくありそうな表現｛ひょうげん｝です。

「 **鳴｛な｝りっぱなし**
の踏切｛ふみきり｝」をそのまま解釈｛かいしゃく｝すると、narutoさんが「開｛あ｝かずの踏切｛ふみきり｝」として紹介｛しょうかい｝している踏切｛ふみきり｝のように、列車｛れっしゃ｝の往来｛おうらい｝が絶｛た｝えないので、「警報音｛けいほうおん｝が鳴｛な｝りやまない踏切｛ふみきり｝」となります。しかし、提示｛ていじ｝された文全体｛ぶんぜんたい｝から判断｛はんだん｝すると、文字通｛もじどお｝りの「いつまでも警報音｛けいほうおん｝が鳴｛な｝りやまない踏切｛ふみきり｝」ではなく、
~~「絶えず（または「しょっちゅう」）警報音が鳴っているように感じるほど列車の往来が頻繁な踏切」~~
「列車｛れっしゃ｝の往来｛おうらい｝が頻繁｛ひんぱん｝なので警報音｛けいほうおん｝が鳴｛な｝りっぱなしと感｛かん｝じるほど絶えず（または「しょっちゅう」）警報音が鳴っている踏切｛ふみきり｝」という意味｛いみ｝だと思｛おも｝います。

~~質問者が提示した冒頭の文は、今回は外国から日本に来た人の感想ですが、「 **都会の喧騒** _the hustle and bustle of a
city_ or _the characteristic noises of big cities_
」に嫌気が差した人が使う感情の表現として小説の中によくありそうな表現です。~~
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鳴りっぱなしの踏切 means "a railway crossing that keeps on ringing" or "a railway
crossing with never-ending ringing sound." See [your own previous
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/53711/5010) for the grammar.

Simply, this is an example of exaggerated expressions like
[these](http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-hyperbole-for-
kids.html). Like many other countries in the world, Japanese railroad
crossings ring only when a train is approaching. They also use blinking red
lights. However, a few railway crossings in Japan are almost always closed in
the daytime due to the heavy train traffic. (Known as an 開かずの踏切 problem. See
[this article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_crossing#Japan)).

Even the most crowded 踏切 in Japan opens for at least a few minutes per hour,
and in this period it does not ring. So technically speaking, saying 鳴りっぱなし
without saying ほぼ ("almost") is incorrect. But 鳴りっぱなしの踏切 totally makes sense
as an exaggerated expression for those who have a basic knowledge of Japanese
踏切. 開かずの踏切 ("unopened 踏切") is also an exaggerated expression because it
sometimes opens.
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