CARGOVIBES

Attenuation of ground-borne vibration affecting residents near freight railway lines

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'As pointed out in the White paper for European transport the aim of the European rail operators is to increase the market share of goods traffic from 8 % in 2001 to 15 % in 2020. The nightly time slots will play an important in this. Railway vibration annoyance and sleep disturbance in residential areas is a potential show stopper for this increase. Therefore the aim of Cargovibes is to develop and assess measures to ensure acceptable levels of vibration for residents living in the vicinity of freight railway lines in order to facilitate the extension of freight traffic on rail. Existing evaluation criteria in use are deemed too strict and not based on relevant surveys. There are no uniform assessment methods available and knowledge about mitigation measures is fractured and hardly common. In this proposal the right criteria will be established, given the characteristics of freight traffic. Existing mitigation measures for conventional railway are not directly applicable to freight trains which generate a different soil vibration pattern than conventional railways in terms of vibration amplitudes and frequency contents. Viable efficient new mitigation measures for freight rail traffic will be designed and validated. In operational terms the project aims at developing a) criteria for the evaluation of the adverse effects. These criteria will be formulated as extensions of current guidelines. b) a protocol for the assessment of the effect of mitigation measures. c) three new mitigation measures: a measure for the rolling stock, one for the track and one in the propagation path. These measures will be pilot tested and validated in service. d) catalogue of mitigation measures, for use of railway community. To ensure that the project will generate products that can readily put to use, a Board of End Users will be put into place which will judge intermediate results and guide the developments in the course of the project.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Noise and vibration from railways in residential areas hold back the expansion of new rail systems and operation of existing lines. An EU initiative designed measures to ensure acceptable levels of vibration for residents living near freight railway lines.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

European rail operators wish to double the amount of goods being transported on the railways. However, vibration caused by freight trains passing through residential areas at night disrupts the sleep of residents and could put a halt to the process.

The EU-funded 'Attenuation of ground-borne vibration affecting residents near freight railway lines' (http://www.cargovibes.eu (CARGOVIBES)) project introduced measures to ensure acceptable levels of vibration for residents. This will allow the amount of traffic to be extended.

CARGOVIBES first assessed the reported health impacts of freight train vibration among residents. A questionnaire was developed to measure the perceptions, annoyance and sleep disturbance caused by vibration. A guideline was produced for railway operators and residents that shows how to measure the negative consequences of night-time freight train vibrations on residents. Another guideline on assessing and measuring the effects of mitigation measures was designed for policymakers, railway operators and planners.

The questionnaire was used in three field surveys where indoor measurements of vibrations were carried out in homes close to freight railway tracks. Researchers also conducted experiments to evaluate sleep disturbance as a result of whole-body vibration from freight transportation.

Three viable and efficient mitigation measures to allow more freight rail traffic and less negative effects were designed and validated. The first measure used on-board and track-based monitoring equipment to pick up excessive vibration from wagons, locomotives and track sections.

The second approach reduced ground-borne vibrations by replacing wooden or concrete sleepers with ladder track or similar track structures.

Soil barriers provided the final measure, which can be applied when track-based solutions are not feasible. The soil barrier approach was suitable for improving an existing situation with minimum disturbance to the railway.

Thanks to CARGOVIBES, residents living close to freight rail lines will experience tolerable vibration levels. Sustainable and effective new mitigation measures will enable freight operators to continue to grow and remain competitive.