Regulations for noise level at stations?

[samuelmorris]

Waiting for a train at St Pancras low-level this afternoon made me wonder, are there any regulations about the SPL and duration of noise level of regular train operation at railway stations? The noise of trains arriving at the station northbound has got to be getting on for 130dB @1m and lasts until the train is almost at a stand. Standing at the southern end of the platform, just hearing two trains arrive gave me short-term hearing loss for around an hour after having left, conceivably if people had to wait 45-50 minutes for a train due to requiring a particular destination in the event of 10-20m delays (which let's face it, will be commonplace), I really don't think it inconceivable for passengers at the southern end of the station to receive permanent hearing damage. At the risk of sounding like a nanny state health & safety nutcase, is there not a regulation about this sort of thing? I have no trouble with the worst offenders on LUL such as the Central line platforms at Bank, but this was considerably worse.

 

[pacenotes]

In short no.

https://www.gov.uk/noise-pollution-road-train-plane/railway-noise

 

[PHILIPE]

Have, but in the past now I think, suffered HSTs or Voyagers waiting for their next working at Bristol T.M. with their engines left running making it impossible to hear tannoy announcements. And polluting the station with their fumes.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Have, but in the past now I think, suffered HSTs or Voyagers waiting for their next working at Bristol T.M. with their engines left running making it impossible to hear tannoy announcements. And polluting the station with their fumes.

Where they wait for there next turn, is it viable to install a shore supply to power anything that requires power when the engines are shut down (compressors, pre-heaters, etc)?

 

[samuelmorris]

Thing is, the only things I can find pertain to the railway causing noise pollution to those outside, which is another matter entirely. My concern is really a health & safety issue for passengers actually using the line. DMUs and the like causing announcements to be inaudible are frustrating but not the problem here. Wonder if perhaps I should ask the TOC, given it's GTR, is that worth it?

 

[rmt4ever]

Thing is, the only things I can find pertain to the railway causing noise pollution to those outside, which is another matter entirely. My concern is really a health & safety issue for passengers actually using the line. DMUs and the like causing announcements to be inaudible are frustrating but not the problem here. Wonder if perhaps I should ask the TOC, given it's GTR, is that worth it?

If you wait at St Pan low level platforms for 50 minutes your mad! And would be very bored...

Just go to one of the pubs upstairs for a pint or two, then come back later

 

[samuelmorris]

The point I was trying to make though, was that you might not know you'll be waiting that long initially - nothing would be scheduled for any more than a 30 minute wait apart from maybe some obscure peak time services, but it'd be all too likely to be waiting for a train coming in via one of the two mainlines but due to disruption, even though the train isn't far away, may end up waiting significantly longer.

 

[37038]

Waiting for a train at St Pancras low-level this afternoon made me wonder, are there any regulations about the SPL and duration of noise level of regular train operation at railway stations? The noise of trains arriving at the station northbound has got to be getting on for 130dB @1m and lasts until the train is almost at a stand. Standing at the southern end of the platform, just hearing two trains arrive gave me short-term hearing loss for around an hour after having left, conceivably if people had to wait 45-50 minutes for a train due to requiring a particular destination in the event of 10-20m delays (which let's face it, will be commonplace), I really don't think it inconceivable for passengers at the southern end of the station to receive permanent hearing damage. At the risk of sounding like a nanny state health & safety nutcase, is there not a regulation about this sort of thing? I have no trouble with the worst offenders on LUL such as the Central line platforms at Bank, but this was considerably worse.

Give over! You might have had a bit of ringing in your ears perhaps but an EMU arriving at a station does not generate a sound level equivalent to a "jet taking off from an aircraft carrier with afterburners at 50ft distance"

http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

 

[richa2002]

Give over! You might have had a bit of ringing in your ears perhaps but an EMU arriving at a station does not generate a sound level equivalent to a "jet taking off from an aircraft carrier with afterburners at 50ft distance"

http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

Note that the poster is referring to flange squeal and not just the normal running sound of a train. He's correct in that it is absurdly loud at that end of the station and I believe steps have been taken to try to reduce it but it doesn't seem to have been that successful. 130dB is probably an exaggeration but it's still uncomfortable.

 

[AM9]

Note that the poster is referring to flange squeal and not just the normal running sound of a train. He's correct in that it is absurdly loud at that end of the station and I believe steps have been taken to try to reduce it but it doesn't seem to have been that successful. 130dB is probably an exaggeration but it's still uncomfortable.

Surely it's more wheel (tread) howl on the curve rather than flange contact with rails/check rails.