Certification requirements for tram noise measurements in terms of today’s expectations in cities

Abstract

Technical requirements for the tram certification process are different between particular EU countries. Uniformity for this procedure is not required in view of the infrastructure of closed cities, hence the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) are not valid. The certification process includes a lot of evaluation aspects for tram interaction in highly urbanized cities. One of them is noise, the level of which depends on the quality of interaction between vehicles and the infrastructure. In homologation tests, stationary, pass-by and signaling noise measurements are included. However, not all of these requirements can always be implemented in cities due to the course of an operated tram network. One of the requirements is the distance from the track axis to the measurement position described as 7.5 m. This requirement is difficult to reflect for a real tram infrastructure, especially in city centers and vintage city areas. For this reason, we can only partially fulfil all standard requirements. This leads to problems with the interpretation of results and impedes final verification of vehicle condition in terms of the fulfilment of operator's requirements contained in tender specifications and technical standards. Presented problems entail the need to evaluate existing technical requirements in terms of their feasibility in cities. The paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the certification requirements for noise level measurements with regard to the Polish city selected. The authors analyzed a tram infrastructure and its environment in terms of the ability to fulfil existing standards conditions for homologation tests.

The effect of noise on the comfort of passengers inside the tramway and its impact on traffic congestion in the urban area

“…However, the comfort of passengers is strongly affected by the noise inside the tram [18]. It is a source of annoyance not only for the inhabitants [19][20][21] but also for users. For this reason, it's necessary to decrease the level of noise inside the tramway and in the neighboring of railways [22].…”