Transport noise
Pages in Transport noise
- 1. Aircraft noise
- 2. Noise from car audio systems
- 3. Ice cream van noise
- 4. Car alarm noise
- 5. Car exhausts noise nuisance
- 6. Off-road motorcycle noise
- 7. You are here: Rail noise
- 8. Road traffic noise
7. Rail noise
In 1999/2000 the Building Research Establishment (BRE) carried out a National Survey of Attitudes to Environmental Noise in order to enable a UK wide assessment of noise attitudes. This revealed that 6% of respondents were "bothered, annoyed or disturbed .... to some extent" by trains or railways and that 2% were moderately, very or extremely bothered, annoyed or disturbed by the noise.
The local authority has a number of legal powers to deal with noise problems. Unfortunately in respect of rail noise, due to legal constraints, they are often unable to act. For example local authority powers to deal with noise nuisance effectively exclude action in respect of most train noise. However, if the noise is of disturbance from track repair alterations, carriage refurbishment in yards and noise from goods yards, there will be circumstances where the local authority has some powers.