Noise and vibration


Noise working group, Vibration Working group, LOWNOISEPAD

Railway transport is the most sustainable transport mode, as it consumes less energy, needs less space and produces less CO2 than any other transport mode. However, noise has long been the main environmental challenge for railway stakeholders. The public and their political representatives urge railway stakeholders to become quieter. But a lot has been achieved, and more activities are on the way.

UIC Noise and Vibration Sector

The UIC Noise and Vibration Sector promotes effective management of railway noise and vibration in the context of sustainable development. The group forms a center of excellence; it supports transfer of knowledge, coordinates events/activities, leads research projects and facilitates communication with key stakeholders. It works in close cooperation with other railway organisations, the EU commission and national authorities.
The sector provides a technical lead on transport noise and vibration policy, in particular:

  • The rail sector response to growing pressure from the EU, national governments, lineside inhabitants, health organisations and NGOs.
  • Evaluation, review and guidance on upcoming new noise and vibration legislative initiatives and mitigation policy ideas and incentives (e.g. noise differentiated track access charges, prohibition of cast iron brake blocks, rail dampers etc.). In addition, it will consider the effects of noise mitigation methods on vibration and vice versa.

The Noise and Vibration Sector meeting is held twice in a year.

For further information about the UIC Noise and Vibration Sector:

Noise working group

Chaired by Jakob OERTLI, SBB

Noise is a critical environmental aspect of the railways. Noise issues must be addressed if rail traffic is to be promoted. In this sense the noise working group aims to share knowledge on noise mitigation practices and supports the development of new noise reduction methodologies. The group also promotes the discussion of the relevant noise issues between the various stakeholders such as the EU Commission, national governments, railways, and lineside residents. To this extent the group publishes regular state of the art reports and organises workshops.

Vibration Working group

Chaired by Alf EKBLAD, Trafikverket

Vibration issues are addressed in the sustainability platform as an environmental issue and its impact on human health. As a result of efforts to eliminate noise problems, there is a growing concern about ground-borne vibration, and its effect on people living near the railways. Therefore, the main objective of the working group is to increase the sharing of information about vibration measurement, prediction and assessment methodologies and to share best practices. Group members focus on active problem solving by organising meetings, workshops, surveys aiming to increase their knowledge and convey them on to other stakeholders by publishing a state-of-the-art report on vibration.

Noise and Vibration projects

For further information and deliverables about Noise and Vibration ongoing projects, please visit:

For further information and deliverables about some completed projects, please visit:

Noise and Vibration publications

Track noise measurement guidelines - A methodology to measure and compare noise emissions during train pass-bys

The International Union of Railways (UIC), through its Noise and Vibration Sector (NV), works with its members to better understand noise-generating mechanisms in order to make tangible progress towards a being a better neighbour. The vision of the UIC NV Sector is to provide a global dialogue to integrate sustainability into railway operations and maintenance with a common goal to better manage noise emissions.

The UIC Low-Cost Noise Control by Optimised Rail Pad (LOWNOISEPAD) project, supported by the UIC NV sector, has brought together the railway community in an effort to find an optimal rail pad to help tackle noise issues across 12 different European railway networks. Within the framework of the project, measurement guidelines for railway noise were developed, which include advice on the measurement of noise-related track characteristics such as pass-by noise emissions, rail vibrations and decay rate on tracks (TDR). The drafted guidelines can be used for measuring the influence on noise with the change of track components. The IRS brings together expertise from the UIC members participating in the LOWNOISEPAD project, during which the guidelines were written and approved.

The guidelines are designed for infrastructure managers (IMs) and consultants carrying out measurements along the track. The guidelines ensure that noise measurements are undertaken so that they give comparable and repeatable results. The approval of the IRS was completed within the framework of the UIC Sustainability Platform and with the support of the UIC NV sector members. The necessary information was shared with other relevant UIC working groups under the Rail system department.

Through the IRS, UIC aims to provide its members with several advantages, as outlined below:

  • The results are not only based on noise emissions, but rail dynamic responses (e.g., rail displacements and accelerations) and decay rate on tracks are also measured at the same time, which enables the noise measurements to be validated.
  • By following this methodology, infrastructure managers can more easily use the software tool created by the LOWNOISEPAD project to estimate the effect of new optimised rail pads on noise based on TDR measurements.
  • New data measured following these guidelines can be used to improve the software tool.

It integrates in full or in part the following UIC leaflets:

  • none

It aims to complement the following standards:

  1. EN 15461:2008+A1-2010: Railway applications - Noise emission - Characterisation of the dynamic properties of track sections for pass by noise measurements
  2. EN 15610:2019: Railway applications - Acoustics - Rail and wheel roughness measurement related to noise generation
  3. ISO 3095:2013: Acoustics - Railway applications - Measurement of noise emitted by railbound vehicles

Author UIC
ISBN 978-2-7461-3273-3
Pages 36

Nuisance and Health Impacts of Railway Noise

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Noise from parked and stationary trains: An analysis of operational and technical solutions

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UIC Railway Noise in Europe

UIC Railway noise in Europe - State of the art report - 2021

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  • UIC Railway noise in Europe - State of the art report - 2016
  • UIC Railway noise in Europe - State of the art report - 2010
    • UIC Noise flyer 2019

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    State of the Art Report - Railway Induced Vibration - 2017

    The UIC Sustainable Unit working group on vibration has just published the Vibrations State-of-the-Art Report. In modern daily life, people are exposed to many types of vibration. The vibration is often accepted as obvious and no cause for concern, (...)

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    Railway Noise - Technical Measures Catalogue
    July 2013

    View brochure on shop.uic.org

    There is a growing awareness of the impact of railway noise on public health, which has resulted in pressure from line-side inhabitants, governments and health organizations for increased noise mitigation. As a consequence, noise can be a limiting factor for many railway operations, introducing additional costs for mitigation, demands for limits on availability/capacity and resistance to expansion of the network.

    Recent years have seen the development of new, and refinement of existing, strategies and technologies for noise management. Railway companies often face calls to implement these, and demonstrate that progress has been made with the use of new and innovative technology.

    By collating best practice and case studies from "real life" tests and adding the theoretical knowledge in this Catalogue, UIC stimulates the implementation of publically available knowledge, demonstrate the progress that has been made and also manage stakeholder expectations.

    This Noise Technical Measures Catalogue surveys recent developments for three topics in
    separate chapters:

    • Curve Squeal
    • Noise from freight marshalling yards
    • Noise from switches

    In addition, one final chapter is dedicated to measures against rolling noise: rail and wheel dampers, K and LL blocks, noise barriers and acoustic grinding.
    Curve squeal Curve squeal is a highly annoying sound that is radiated by trains running through sharp curves. Much progress has been made during the past decades in understanding this phenomenon. Mitigation measures aim at avoiding squeal events or at least reducing their duration or strength. Flange lubrication and top-of-rail application of friction modifiers have demonstrated to be very effective (reduction1: 5-20 dB(A)), provided that the dosing devices receive constant and dedicated maintenance. Friction products can be applied from trackbased as well as vehicle-mounted devices and there are many manufacturers and suppliers of such devices.

    Special bogie designs, aiming at improved steering performance in curved as well as straight track, also reduce squeal noise and are potential solutions for the future, provided that safety issues can be solved adequately.

    Noise from freight marshalling yards
    Marshalling yards are areas where freight trains are decoupled and coupled. Because of the large scale of the yard, mitigation by noise barriers is no option. Among the most important noise sources are screeching rail brakes (retarders), peak noise from coupling vehicles and starting diesel engines, and steady noise from locomotive engines and auxiliary systems. Recently, new solutions for noisy rail brakes have been developed, showing promising noise performances (5-15 dB(A)). For stationary noise of several locomotives, technical modifications have been developed. Stationary noise of diesel engines, for example to operate cooling vents, may be avoided by using a way-side electric power supply.

    Noise from switches
    Switches and crossings are among the most sensitive parts of the railway system, claiming a large part of the maintenance budget. Switches and crossings also produce noise: impact noises from joints (if present) and screeching noise similar to curve squeal. In a traditional switch, a wheel encounters several gaps, causing a train to produce a rattling sound. Jointless switches are state-of-the-art nowadays (2-4 dB(A)) on lines where trains run at operational speeds. Squeal noise and flange rubbing noise in switches may receive the same treatment as squeal noise in curves (5-20 dB(A)).

    Rolling noise
    Rolling noise is the most common type of railway noise and there are many technical
    measures that reduce it. High levels of rolling noise arise from irregularities on the wheel
    tread and rail head, called roughness. Roughness of the rails can be controlled by
    maintenance grinding and can be further reduced by acoustic grinding. Acoustic grinding
    requires that the rails are ground or polished as soon as a certain reference noise level is
    exceeded (1-3 dB(A)). The potential of acoustic grinding will increase if all train wheels are smooth as well. A large improvement in this field is expected from the homologation of LL braking blocks, which make retrofitting of freight vehicles a cost-effective option (8-10 dB(A)).

    By application of rail dampers (0-3 dB(A)) and wheel dampers (0-2 dB(A)) a further noise reduction can be achieved. Rail dampers are applied in several countries. The noise reduction depends largely on the characteristics of the track system without rail dampers.

    Promising developments for urban areas are low-close barriers, typically placed at only 1.70 m from the track with a height of 0.70-0.85 m. In certain cases low-close barriers are acoustically equivalent to much higher conventional barriers, their advantage being that they do not block the view. However, in view of safety issues with barriers placed that close to the traffic, to date only few countries have decided about homologation.

    The real cost of railway noise mitigation - A risk assessment - 2013

    National noise legislation requires rail infrastructure managers throughout Europe to take noise mitigation measures. Practically, the choice is between vehicles related measures (for example brake shoe retrofitting), track related measures (for (...)

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    Real noise reduction of freight wagon retrofitting - Supporting communication on noise reduction - Synthesis report - 2013

    Freight trains are the main contributors to noise from mixed railway lines. The railway sector, represented by UIC, proposes the retrofitting of the existing European freight fleet, by replacing cast iron brake blocks with composite (organic or (...)

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    FreightSimSilent

    The application FreightSimSilent allows all cost-relevant parameters for retrofitting to K or LL brake blocks to be easily manipulated and displayed in diagrams spanning 20 years. This helps users make sound decisions and optimise different (...)

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    Rail Dampers, Acoustic Rail Grinding, Low Height Noise Barriers - 2012

    There are many noise mitigation options open to railways. Some of them - such as noise barriers - have a known effect and are used widely, others such rail dampers, acoustic rail grinding or low height noise barriers are still controversial for (...)

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    On the END Consultation - Noise limits and trigger values - 2012

    The European Directive on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise has been in force since 2002. It requests Member States to produce strategic noise maps of the major transport infrastructure and of agglomerations. The maps shall be made (...)

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    UIC Project, Exploring bearable noise limits and emission ceilings for the railways: Part 1 - National and European legislation and analysis of different noise limit systems - 2011

    The question ‘What are bearable limits for environmental railway noise?’ is discussed regularly in different forums at both National and European levels. To inform this debate, UIC has commissioned dB Vision to perform a systematic evaluation of all (...)

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    UIC Project, Exploring bearable noise limits and emission ceilings for the railways: Part 2 - Cost and benefit study for different noise limits - 2011

    The question ‘What are bearable limits for environmental railway noise?’ is discussed regularly in different forums at both National and European levels. To inform this debate, UIC has commissioned dB Vision to perform a systematic evaluation of all (...)

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    The railway noise bonus - Discussion paper on the noise annoyance correction factor - 2010

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    Noise differentiated track access charges, 2008
    For further information about UIC’s publications on the implementation of noise related track access charges (NDTAC), please consult: https://uic.org/sustainable-development/noise-and-vibration/noise-differentiated-track-access-charges

    Environmental Noise Directive Development of Action Plans for Railways - 2008

    Following the European Environmental Noise Directive (END directive n°2002/49/EC), noise mapping have to be done for large agglomerations and important infrastructures, every five years. The year after, the noise maps have to be followed by action (...)

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    Noise Reduction in Rail Freight - 2007

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    Noise Reduction in European Railway Infrastructure - 2007

    According to the UIC/CER report ‘Noise reduction in European infrastructure’ (2007), every year, between €150 and €200 million is spent in Europe on building noise barriers and installing insulated windows, more or less meeting with acceptance from (...)

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    Rail Freight Noise Abatement - 2006

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    Curve squeal noise, 2005

    Curve squeal is an intense tonal noise that may occur on curves or on switches. The high noise level causes annoyance for people living in the vicinity of a squealing railway track as well as for passengers waiting in stations with curves. The character of the noise is very intense with high frequencies (up to 10,000 Hz) and high amplitudes that can be up to 100 dB(A) in 10 m distance.

    To answer to this problem, the UIC Combating Curve Squeal project was designed to find measures against the annoying high-pitched noise created during pass-bys of trains in certain curves. A first phase, completed in 2003, was aimed at analyzing existing knowledge and developing models while the second phase, described in the report below, intended to increase confidence in selected mitigation measures.
    A selection of friction modifiers and water were tested on two different rigs and under field conditions in Switzerland, France and the UK.
    In conclusion, no optimal solutions could be found that would work under all circumstances. For each curve the trade-off between performance, dosage and costs must therefore be evaluated separately.

    UIC Combatting curve squeal Phase 2 - State-of-the-art report - 2005

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    Status and Options for the Reduction of Noise Emission from the Existing European Rail Freight Wagon Fleet - 2004

    This report investigates the status and options for retrofitting of the existing European rail freight fleet based on a study commissioned by the European Commission and jointly funded together with the railways (UIC and CER), the wagon owners (UIP (...)

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    Noise Creation Limits for Railways - 2002

    Noise Creation Limits for Railways - Background information from UIC Subcommission Noise and Vibration - 2002

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    Noise Creation Limits for Railways - Main Report - 2002

    This report sets out current knowledge of the phenomenon of railway noise and the potential of technical measures to mitigate it. The report also contains proposals for future achievable and affordable noise creation limits which are based on this (...)

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    Railway Noise Research - Summary of Activities since 1990 - 1998

    This report describes the noise research carried out by ERRI and a number of European railways until 1998. It evaluates the options available to aim for a target of a 20 dB(A) noise reduction for freight vehicles compared with current levels in 1998. (...)

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    UIC focus noise

    UIC Focus Noise - November 2014

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    UIC Focus Noise - April 2014

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    UIC Focus Noise - June 2013

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    UIC Focus Noise - July 2012

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    UIC Focus Noise - June 2010

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    UIC Focus Noise - October 2009

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    UIC Focus Noise - February 2009

    Unfortunately, two errors slipped in focus no. 3 : Page 1, in the interview of Mr Kunst, the statement “The Dutch system for the reduction of track access charges for silent freight wagons is currently being implemented in Austria." is not correct (...)

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    UIC Focus Noise - March 2008

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    UIC Focus Noise - August 2007

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    Workshops

    If you missed the seminars or would like to keep the information in your archive, please take a look at these following links:

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    Friday 5 June 2015