Londond Underground noise could damage hearing.

[quarella]

BBC1 1930 Mon 29 Jan 2018. Inside Out.

Also item on BBC News website. Part quote below.

Parts of London Underground are "loud enough to damage people's hearing", the BBC has been told.

An academic says the Victoria Line service is on average the loudest while other noisy sections of the Tube equate to "being at a rock concert".

 

[Busaholic]

Rubber tyres, like on parts of the Paris metro? Excess noise replaced by smell of burning rubber!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I don't find the Paris Metro to be any quieter than the London Underground.

 

[philthetube]

there is probably not enough clearance in the tunnels for rubber tyres, and imagine all the rubbish passengers would be breathing in from the wearing tyres.

 

[gazthomas]

I find the screeching on the Victoria Line hurts my ears

 

[AM9]

Not a very surprising finding. The loudest parts of the system are all outside the very centre (i.e. Circle line), i.e. where the trains run the fastest. The noise itself seems to be rail roar and it is worse on the ATO lines where near identical acceleration/speed/braking patterns of every train contribute to railhead wear that creates the noise. The Metropolitan was obviously the quietest of all lines as over 85% ia above ground and most of the subsurface running is in twin track tunnel and at relatively lower speeds.
Not sure what can be done about it except if NTfL has effective a/c allowing running without open widows/vents.

 

[rebmcr]

The worst I've heard is in the tunnels between Leytonstone and Wanstead.

Rail roar is omnipresent, but not unpleasant — flange squeal is horrific when it can't dissipate outwards, instead reflected back inside the train by the tunnel walls.

 

[Mikey C]

The examples given I can certainly agree with

The one that surprises me is the Jubilee Line between Canary Whark and North Greenwich, as a relatively new bit of track it's a bit surprising that it's so noisy

 

[bramling]

Not a very surprising finding. The loudest parts of the system are all outside the very centre (i.e. Circle line), i.e. where the trains run the fastest.

I don't think one can make that connection at all. The Victoria Line runs at a pretty constant 50 mph from end to end, including through the centre. The Jubilee reaches 60 mph between Baker Street and Green Park. Even the humble Northern Line, not really known for speed, reaches 47 mph on the short hop between Warren Street and Goodge Street!

Some of the sections highlighted for noise, e.g. Camden to Euston s/b, Kentish Town to Tufnell Park n/b, are only 35 mph. Lambeth North to Waterloo is hardly fast!

The noise itself seems to be rail roar and it is worse on the ATO lines where near identical acceleration/speed/braking patterns of every train contribute to railhead wear that creates the noise.

I'd say there are two issues. Firstly the amount of rail grinding going on has very much increased in recent years, just like on the mainline, which produces a high-pitch whine which is even more noticeable in the tunnel environment. Secondly, there have been some changes to track formation on some specific curves. It's very noticeable that at least two of the noisy sections (Euston/Camden and Kentish Town/Tufnell Park) coincide with this. I have a feeling this was done as part of the preparations for Night Tube, perhaps as a vibration mitigation measure. Whatever the reason, I think it's more specific than just due to rail wear.

The Metropolitan was obviously the quietest of all lines as over 85% ia above ground and most of the subsurface running is in twin track tunnel and at relatively lower speeds.

Still reaches 45 mph in the tunnels, but perhaps brick absorbs noise better than other materials? That is when the Met isn't running "stick to stick", of course, which is much of the time.

 

[Busaholic]

I don't find the Paris Metro to be any quieter than the London Underground.

Most of the lines don't run on rubber tyres!

 

[philthetube]

There are no sharp curves where the Met is in single bore tunnels

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Most of the lines don't run on rubber tyres!

True, but I haven't noticed a lot of difference between the noise level on those which do and on those which don't ( obviously excepting the open air sections! )

 

[Busaholic]

True, but I haven't noticed a lot of difference between the noise level on those which do and on those which don't ( obviously excepting the open air sections! )

You could be right, my hearing's not great anyway. It was merely a suggestion.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Pardon ?

 

[Rogmi]

Almost all 'wheel squeal' on curved track (which occurs when the wheel flange scrapes on the guide rail) is usually due to the flange not being greased in that area due to faulty / empty. This is something that has gone on for decades on the tubes (and probably main line as well). Despite being frequently reported, it often took a long time to be sorted out. Tube drivers were given the option of wearing specially adapted ear defenders if they wanted.

Like others, I've also notice the rise in 'rail squeal' over the years, presumably due to rail grinding / profiling having taken place.

 

[PermitToTravel]

One of the loudest sections is one with a very low speed limit and an extremely sharp bend: Shepherd's Bush to White City westbound. Ow.

 

[Silver Cobra]

Another section of the Underground that's very noisy is the Central Line between Mile End and Stratford, especially when heading westbound.

 

[tranzitjim]

Could the iron lining of the deep tube tunnels also increase the noise being of iron?

 

[LiftFan]

Chancery Lane to Bank is a noticeably loud section to me, the Vic is also just consistently noisy for whatever reason. I've never found the noise to be unbearable on the Jubilee and lots of the noise underground is the huge racket those traction motors make at full speed.

 

[HainultLoop]

The Victoria from Tottenham Hale down to King's Cross southbound always was horrible in my opinion. It seems to have got better recently though - LU track renewal?

 

[bramling]

The Victoria from Tottenham Hale down to King's Cross southbound always was horrible in my opinion. It seems to have got better recently though - LU track renewal?

Unlikely to be full track renewal as such, but could be down to rail grinding or re-railing, plus there's been a general drive to remove surplus blockjoints since the resignalling. Same applies on the Jubilee and Northern.