Vibrations from rail traffic and mitigations measures for the reduction of railway noise

Abstract

The present paper presents an analysis of the mechanism of propagation of vibrations from rail traffic and its effects to the surrounding land uses. First, the following issues are examined: levels of noise from rail traffic in relation to speed, distance and infrastructure type. Next, the origins of rail vibrations are identified: engines of rolling stock, wheel-rail interaction, friction between the pantograph and catenary wires, and aerodynamic effects during train movements. The types of waves produced from rail vibrating sources (compression waves, shear waves, Rayleigh waves) and the energy transmitted through each type of wave are analyzed. The relationship of rail noise to speed (a logarithmic one) and the dampening of rail noise in relation to distance are surveyed afterwards. As the most efficient stage for the reduction of rail originating noise is at the origin, various measures and their effects are explored; whenever rail noise cannot be reduced efficiently at the origin, the effects of noise levels on the surrounding land uses with the use of noise barriers are analyzed. Finally, a compendium of various measures for the reduction of railway noise, the level of impact and the estimated cost of each one are suggested with emphasis to recent research at Thessaloniki Metro network (under construction).