Hypothetical assessment of light rail vehicles idling at a terminus in New South Wales

Abstract

The NSW Rail Infrastructure Noise Guideline (RING) delineates the assessment of airborne noise from light rail vehicles and from railway activities taking place at fixed locations (stationary noise sources). Airborne noise from light rail vehicles is assessed against the RING criteria, while airborne noise from stationary noise sources is assessed against the much more stringent Industrial Noise Policy (INP) which has since been superseded by the Noise Policy for Industry (NPfI). In real-life operations, light rail vehicles will often idle with their air conditioners running at terminus locations that are often located near sensitive receivers due to network constraints. This creates a pseudo-stationary noise source, which to a nearby sensitive receiver is indistinguishable from a stationary noise source. This paper hypothetically assesses the noise emissions from light rail vehicles idling at a terminus against both the RING and hypothetical NPfI criteria, and examines the likely mitigation that would be required for each assessment. Commentary is also provided regarding the suitability of the RING and the NPfI to this kind of noise source.