A Case Study on Annoyance Noise Caused by Metro Railway at a TOD Developed Depot

Abstract

As an importance strategy to finance the transport infrastructure investment, transit-oriented development (TOD) for railway depot is rapidly growing in China. However, railway-induced noise emerged as the leading environmental nuisance triggering one of the most common public complaints. In order to discuss the influence of railway-induced noise on the neighbourhood residents in a TOD developed depot, a special case study is provided in this study. Measurement campaigns were conducted for responding to the complaints, and noise map was calculated for finding out a noise control solution. Based on the recommendation awakening threshold value of 42 dB (A) summarized from the Night Noise Guidelines for Europe (WHO, 2009), the measurement results confirmed that the neighbourhood residents were indeed suffering from the instantaneous railway noise, and the sleep disturbance correlated indicator LAmax was more than 56 dB (A) at outside of buildings. Furthermore, calculation results indicated that the lower office buildings became mirrors which reflected the noise across over the cover structure to the higher stories of residents’ buildings. At the ends, a kind of dissipative splitter muffler was proposed as a potential solution, and its performance was also simulated.

Assessing the Influence of RMS and VDV on Analysis of Human Perception of Vibrations in Buildings Caused by Selected Sources of Traffic

“…The metro train passage is always studied when complaints from residents appear, as occurred in [30]. Articles focus mostly on the diagnosis of noise and vibrations which appeared due to metro train passages.…”

Evaluation of indicators of railway-induced annoying vibration based on building measurements developed by TOD: a discussion

“…In China, even if an over-track building meets the acceleration control criteria for vibration, there are still complaints from residents [7]. We summarized the causes of the complaints and found that secondary air-borne noise in buildings was the main source of complaints [8]. The secondary air-borne noise in buildings is highly correlated with the vibration velocity of the walls and floorboard, but the current vibration control standards in China neglect the measurement and control of vibration velocity.…”

“…However, the vibrations generated by the frequent operations of the trains in early morning and late night annoy the building residents [6,7]. At the same time, the impact of railway-induced noise on the neighbourhood residents in a TOD developed depot should not be ignored [8]. Measuring and evaluating the vibration levels of both planned and existing buildings has become a crucial concern to ensure the comfort of their residents [9].…”