Railway environmental noise control in China

Abstract

Railway transportation has made significant contributions to the flourishing economy of China, the environment-friendly development of the system having become one of the major challenges. Noise pollution in particular has been the subject of much attention in recent years. The present situation in China regarding railway environmental noise is given in this paper. Emission standards and methods of measurement of railway noise on the boundary alongside the railway line (GB12525-90) is first introduced, followed by typical noise levels and spectra alongside main railway lines and the noise propagation pattern with distance (which have been monitored over decades). The primary sources of railway noise to residential communities include the whistling noise of locomotives, the noise of diesel locomotives and wheel/rail noise. According to the characteristics of these noise sources and their impacts, various effective noise control technologies have been adopted. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been well implemented for all new railway projects to ensure that the noise impact is given early consideration. However, increasing the speed on existing lines, constructing new high-speed passenger lines and developments of heavy freight transport are among the main improvement works of Chinese railways in the near future. Finally, there is a brief perspective of the key research objectives in the field of railway environmental noise.