Rail Noise

1
Rail Noise Vibration Update

• July 10, 2006

2
Overview

• FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Guidance
• FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance
• CREATE Noise and Vibration assessment tools for
  Freight and Passenger Rail

3
FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Guidance

• FRA relies on FTAs guidance for conventional
  rail and stationary sources
• FTA noise vibration guidance June, 2006
• Incorporated FRA methods for assessing locomotive
  horn noise at grade crossings
• Available on FTAs website at http//www.fta.dot.
  gov/documents/FTA_Noise_and_Vibration_Manual.pdf

4
FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment
Guidance

• Inclusion of noise reference levels for several
  new transit modes
• Fuller explanation of how to handle multimodal
  highway/transit projects
• Expanded discussion of noise and vibration
  mitigation measures including costs
• Refined vibration impact criteria expressed in
  one-third octave bands for Detailed Analysis and
  
• More examples on how to use the General Noise
  Assessment procedures for different types of
  transit projects.

5
FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance

• FRA issued final guidance manual in October, 2005
• Available on FRAs Website at HOME / Passenger
  Rail or Freight Rail / Environment /
  Environmental Impact / Guidance on Assessing
  Noise and Vibration Impacts

6
FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance

• Technical approach and methods unchanged
• Added source data for Maglev TR08
• Expanded Noise Screening Procedure
• Changed Impact to Moderate Impact
• Added Appendix E Conventional Rail Reference
  Levels

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Appendix ENoise Source Reference Levels for
Conventional Trains (SEL at 50 feet)
10
CREATE Noise and Vibration

• CREATE Chicago Rail Efficiency And
  Transportation Efficiency Program
• Neither FRA nor FTA had freight rail sources in
  guidance or spreadsheet tools.
• HMMH Developed a MS Excel spreadsheet model for
  CEREATE project noise assessment.

11
CREATE Model

• Moving Noise Sources
• Electric and diesel commuter locomotives
• Commuter passenger cars
• Light-rail transit (LRT) powered cars
• Automated-guideway transit (AGT) cars
  (steel-wheeled and rubber-tired)
• Monorail
• Magnetic-levitation (Maglev) trains
• Freight locomotives
• Freight cars (typical and empty hopper)
• Automobiles
• Buses (city and commuter)
• Commuter buses

12
CREATE Model

• Stationary Noise Sources
• Track crossovers (switches, turnouts, crossing
  diamonds)
• Rail yards or shops
• Layover tracks
• Bus storage yards
• Bus operating facilities
• Bus transit centers
• Parking garages
• Park and ride lots

• Track Noise Sources
• Percentage of wheel flats for rail cars
• Jointed track
• Embedded track
• Aerial structure

13
Input Noise
-
Sensitive Receptor Data
Receptor/case name
FTA land use category (1,2 or 3)
CREATE Model Structure
Distance to noise sources
Intervening building rows
Presence of noise barriers
Input Noise Sources (up to eight)
Use source reference list
Input Noise Source Activity
Vehicles per hour
Cars / locomotives per train
Duration of trains
Vehicle speeds
Input Noise Source Details
Percentage of wheel flats
Jointed track
Embedded track
Aerial structure
Output Noise Level
Hourly
-
equivalent noise level (
L
)
eq
Day
-
night noise level (
L
)
dn
14
End

• David Valenstein
• Environmental Program Manager
• [phone]
• david.valenstein_at_dot.gov