Management of noise from parked and stationary trains

UIC Noise and Vibration Sector - Survey

Noise is a critical environmental aspect of the railways. UIC with its members seek solutions and best practice to manage rail operations in an environmentally responsible way.

Introduction

The issue of noise from running trains in operational service has been well explored, and huge progress in noise reduction has been made over the years, as detailed in the UIC Noise and Vibration (NV) Sector’s latest report on Railway noise in Europe. However, an increasing number of complaints are now being received from lineside neighbours about other noise sources from trains, even when the trains are parked or stationary. Modern multiple units (EMU/DMU) are equipped with many different mechanical parts (compressors, HVAC, power converters, traction units, etc.), which have been causing noise disturbances for close-by residents. Consequently, work is under way to find solutions to reduce noise pollution from parked or stationary trains. UIC and its members are reacting to this emerging issue within the NV Sector.

UIC announced its collaboration with VibraTec to draft a technical report on managing noise from parked and stationary trains in Europe. For further information, please consult UIC eNews

Definitions

The following definitions are used for the purpose of the survey only. They are not to be understood as definitions for a standard or a regulatory framework.”

Stationary train : The train is fully operational in that the pantograph is raised or the engine is running but the train is not moving, e.g. when the train is waiting for a signal, waiting to enter or leave a depot or maintenance yard, for trains stopped in stations or waiting to start the return trip at a terminus of a line. For more information, please consult TSI NOI & ISO 3095.

Parked train : The train is not moving and taken out of operational and/or commercial service for a longer duration at one place, e.g. in a depot, a maintenance yard or during the night at the terminal of a secondary line. No passengers are on board. Noise emitting sources might be active continuously or in intermittently in order to achieve fast operational availability, prepare operational service, etc.

Survey

UIC is pleased to announce that work on a new scope study for managing noise from stationary and parked trains has started, with the aim of publishing a technical report in autumn 2022. The new study aims to assist all stakeholders in meeting the challenges faced by the sector, by analysing and collating the information to be gathered from the relevant members. The final deliverable will be disseminated at the UIC Railway Noise Days in 2023.

The main scope of this survey is on noise from parked trains. Since this is an issue for both, infrastructure managers and operators, UIC would be pleased to have participants and separate answers from both.

Now, UIC invites interested participants to complete the survey which will take around 30 minutes to complete.

Survey for Infrastructure Managers and Operators

Deadline: 31/01/2021

Survey for Rolling Stock Manufacturers

Deadline: 31/01/2021

The questions in this section are intended to be general and relate to your whole network. The information collected in the questionnaire is recorded in a computerised file in the UIC and in a protected by a password space in UIC’s information system. The legal basis of the processing is consent. The only personal data collected is your e-mail in order to contact you during the analysis of the survey. The data marked with an asterisk in the questionnaire must be provided. Otherwise the registration cannot be achieved. The data collected will be communicated only to the UIC and the consultant who will perform the analysis of the result. You may access your data, rectify it, request its deletion or exercise your right to limit the processing of your data. Consult the cnil.fr website for more information about your rights. To exercise these rights or for any questions about the processing of your data in this scheme, you can contact our data protection officer at dpo@uic.org If you believe, after having contacted us, that your "Data Protection" rights have not been respected, you may submit a complaint to the CNIL. “

Contact

Thank you for supporting the UIC NV sector and if you have any questions about the survey or project please get in touch with

UIC ENews

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