TransLink tackles SkyTrain noise
VANCOUVER — Relief could be on the way for those living near noisy SkyTrain tracks.
TransLink is exploring ways to prevent or reduce the racket caused by trains as they navigate the tracks that run through seven Metro Vancouver municipalities.
The move is the result of a noise study conducted this year, looking at the amount of noise and its impact on residents.
TransLink hired a consultant to conduct the study and also convened a community advisory committee made up of a dozen residents who had lodged noise complaints.
Between February and June, measurements and observations were made at 32 locations across the train network, and inside a test train.
In assessing and benchmarking noise levels, the study used World Health Organization recommendations for community noise, which call for a maximum of 75 decibels at the facades of residential buildings, or the equivalent of the sound of a loud radio or television.
In some cases, the maximum noise levels were about 90 decibels, or the sound of a loud car horn at a distance of three metres. One area with noise levels of 90 decibels or higher was between VCC-Clark and Commercial-Broadway stations.
Most of the noise is caused by steel train wheels on steel rails. The main contributing factors were train speed (the highest noise levels were adjacent to high-speed track sections), proximity and elevation of the home and track condition. “The first two items are generally not in our control to do much about,” said Jeff Busby, TransLink’s director of infrastructure program management. “The third is where we can focus our efforts.”
Rail roughness, corrugation, track defects and worn switches can increase noise levels by 15 decibels compared to areas with track and switches that are in good condition.
Measures suggested include improving switch maintenance and rail grinding practices, and installing rail dampers and higher-quality rails.