Reducing railway noise levels: the impact of forthcoming European legislation

Noise from railways has typically been dealt with by using the ‘we were here first’ argument. In the UK that continues to be largely effective, except where major refurbishment is undertaken or new lines are envisaged. Forthcoming EU legislation will require a change of approach. This paper looks at the background and sets out what will now be required: the immediate impact will be an obligation to undertake noise mapping to gain a better understanding of railway noise levels; then action plans will have to be produced to control and mitigate excessive noise (although as yet there is no indication of what will be regarded as ‘excessive’).