Noise is one of the most widespread public health threats in industrialised countries. The abatement of noise is therefore necessary not only for comfort but also to lessen its adverse effects.
Rail is generally considered one of the most environmentally friendly transport modes. However, the contribution of rail transport to noise pollution is significant, with about 10% of the population exposed to noise levels above the threshold for “serious annoyance”, say EU experts. In some European regions there is substantial public opposition to rail noise, demanding political initiatives to reduce it. If no remedial action is taken, this could lead to restrictions on rail traffic along the most important European rail corridors, in particular freight trains, and the resulting bottlenecks would be likely to have adverse effects on European economies, which, are still very affected by the recession, just like railway freight traffic. Furthermore, a possible modal shift from rail to road on these corridors would lead to increasing environmental impacts, in particular greenhouse gas emissions as the specific CO2 emissions of rail freight are significantly lower than those of road haulage. This can happen at a time when the Community is considering the opportunity to develop a rail network giving priority to freight.
In 2003 experts identified rolling noise of freight wagons as the biggest source of rail noise. The braking technology currently used produces rough wheel surfaces and subsequently leads to a high level of vibration of rails and wheels. As freight trains often operate at night, their noise emission is even more critical.
Experts recommended giving priority to measures at source (vehicles and tracks) as they are more cost-effective. Nevertheless, according to recent figures, a total of EUR 150-200 Million is spent annually in Europe on the construction of noise barriers. Noise barriers could admittedly be an effective element of noise abatement programmes where necessary, for example in dense urban areas. If barriers are coupled with measures at source, the length and/or height of barriers can be reduced, leading to significant cost savings.
However, given the long lifetime of rolling stock, it will take several years before overall noise emissions from freight trains can be reduced significantly under existing legislation and if no additional measures addressing the existing fleet are introduced.
Today, about 50% of rail freight transport is international and as a consequence a large number of wagons run across a multitude of national networks. As even a small number of noisy wagons have a significant effect and determine the noise impact, national abatement strategies alone cannot solve the problem sufficiently.
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