Noise annoyance through railway traffic - a case study

This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large latin american city. measurementswere taken of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods with and withoutblowing their horns. noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. inaddition - annoyance of the residents - affected by railway noise, was evaluated based on interviews. the measurementsindicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train with its horn blowing are extremely high, clearlyexceeding the daytime limits of equivalent sound pressure level - leq = 55 db(a) - established by the municipal laws no10.625 of the city of curitiba. the leq = 45 db (a) which is the limit for the night period also are exceeded during thepassage of trains. the residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which causesirritability, headaches, poor concentration and insomnia, and 88% of them claimed that nocturnal noise pollutionis the most distressing. this study showed that the vast majority of residents surveyed, (69%) believe that the noise ofthe train can devalue their property.