Is this Britain’s most deafening commute?
Blight of 98 decibel din on Glasgow Subway ‘could be harmful to hearing’
IT will be no surprise to anyone who has ever winced at the screech of the brakes or struggled to talk over the rattle of the carriages.
A Scottish Mail on Sunday investigation found the noise on Scotland’s only underground system was loud enough to damage passengers’ hearing.
Armed with a decibel meter, we measured sound on Glasgow’s Subway – and recorded levels louder than an electric drill, a revving motorbike or a chainsaw.
Some readings on the train were actually louder than the bagpipe player busking outside a station.
A similar study on London’s Tube last week resulted in health warnings from scientists. Yesterday, experts also warned regular Subway commuters in Glasgow should consider ear plugs.
During a tour of the Subway’s 15 stations last week, operated by Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), we recorded the loudest noise as a train arrived at Buchanan Street – at an ear-splitting 97.8dB (decibels).
Even the skirl of the pipes outside the station as busker Joss Bryson entertained passers-by was only 93.7dB.
Dr Shuzo Sakata, a hearing researcher at the University of at Strathclyde’s Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, said: ‘Typically, your hearing can be permanently damaged by long periods of exposure to sounds above 85dB, so exposure to sounds at 97dB should be limited.’
Teri Devine of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland said: ‘Over-exposure to sounds above 85dB can pose a risk to people’s hearing, so we would expect SPT to be monitoring noise on the Glasgow Subway to ensure employees or passengers are not experiencing potentially dangerous levels.
‘If the measured noise is too high for too long, changes would be necessary to protect people’s hearing and consideration should be given to adapting any new Subway stock to make trains quieter.
‘Subway passengers who are annoyed or discomforted may wish to use earplugs or noise cancelling headphones to help reduce the impact of the noise.’ The Glasgow Subway opened in 1896. It is generally recognised as the world’s third underground railway, after Budapest and London. It carries about 40,000 passengers a day, many of them tourists and commuters. Using a decibel meter, we travelled around the Subway circuit to record noise levels in carriages. The 8.48am from Buchanan Street on Thursday was at its loudest between Hillhead and Kelvinhall.
Conversation with fellow passengers swiftly became impossible as the train gathered speed. Levels between the stations remained well over 85dB and peaked at 97.3dB – louder than a revving tractor.
The second noisiest leg was between Cowcaddens and St George’s Cross, at a high of 94.4dB – equivalent to a chainsaw.
Scarcely any better was Shields Road to West Street, which peaked at 94dB.The quietest leg was West Street to Bridge Street. At 81.4dB, it was no louder than average traffic heard from inside a car.
But it was still above the level at which the Health and Safety Executive insists on action.
Noise legislation compels employers to assess risk to workers’ health and provide information and training if they are exposed to a daily or weekly average noise over 80dB.
The level at which hearing protection must be provided is 85dB. There is also a limit of 87dB, taking account of any reduction in exposure provided by hearing protection, above which workers must not be exposed.
But an SPT spokesman said: ‘The results from your test are below a peak sound pressure of 140dB, which the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 state are acceptable.
‘SPT takes the health and safety of all its staff very seriously and would not expose them to any undue risk.’
‘Such noises can pose a risk to passengers’