Railway noise impact assessment: An overview of the Railway Noise and Vibration Research project in South Korea

Technology development for sustainable low noise railways, a consortium project funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, has aimed to develop new technology for reducing railway noise and vibrations. One of the goals of this project is to establish guidelines for impact assessments on railway noise. Changes in people’s perception of noise have elicited changes in approaches to the development of technology to reduce railway noise. Prior to formulating guidelines, research on procedures to measure railway noise, an impact assessment on people exposed to railway noise, and the selection of measures to evaluate railway noise impact must be conducted. This paper presents an overview of part of the project and the preliminary results of establishing guidelines for railway noise impact assessment. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the development of the effective methods and technology for reducing railway noise.