Tennyson - rail noise issue

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Tennyson rail wheel squeal: Double glazed windows, soundproof doors not enough for a decent night's sleep

FURIOUS Tennyson residents say deafening squeals from a nearby rail line are waking them up at night and ruining their quality of life.

Greg Flanagan has been working with the Tennyson Residents Association to try to get action on the noise.

He said his family was among the worst affected at Tennyson by the noise because they lived across the road from a bend in the track on Myla Tce.

"You expect a bit of noise but this is nothing like when we moved in," he said.

Queensland Rail (QR) manages the Corinda-Yeerongpilly rail, which is now used by Aurizon coal and freight trains, not passenger services.

A QR spokeswoman said the company was "sympathetic" about the issue at Tennyson and was working with the community "to help mitigate the intermittent noise". "We have implemented a number of measures to reduce noise, including installation of a nearly $2.5 million noise barrier last year, grinding of the rails and the use of lubricant which helps to reduce noise," she said.

An Aurizon spokesman said it worked closely with Queensland Rail to mitigate impacts on the community, including maintenance of trains.

"Queensland Rail is the rail infrastructure manager and is responsible for the condition of the track, and monitoring and ensuring environmental standards are met," he said.

Mr Flanagan said the noise barrier at Tennyson did not reduce the noise.

He said they had their windows double glazed, installed a soundproof door and slept with the house closed but were still woken at night.

He said they had contacted QR about the issue several times.

Minister urged to act

Tennyson Residents Association president Jim Crosthwaite said the train noise could be heard across the suburb.

Mr Crosthwaite said the association would write to Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe to request urgent action on the issue.

Mr Hinchliffe could not be reached for comment.

A Department of Environment and Heritage Protection spokeswoman said nuisance noise emitted from the ordinary use of rail infrastructure did not fall under its jurisdiction.

"As the Queensland Environmental Protection Act 1994 currently stands, EHP is unable to intervene at the moment," she said.

A Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said no complaints about rail squeal at Tennyson were made to council in the past year.

"Council does not have authority to regulate noise from rail transport infrastructure," she said.

"Any complaints received about rail squeal would be transferred directly through to the State Government, to be handled by Queensland Rail (QR)."

A QR spokeswoman said it would continue to monitor the situation.

"Rail squeal is a common problem. While it can't be completely eliminated, we are committed to reducing impacts where practical," she said.

[petey3801]

*sigh* Another one who moves in next to a railway and then complains about the noise. No doubt he would also be happy to move underneath a flight path/next to an airport and then complain, but wouldn't hear a peep out of them if they moved next to the M1.

[#Metro]

Trains make noise. Don't buy a house next to a train line.  :conf

There really needs to be a noise map though, similar to a flood map.

Mapping capabilities have come very far in recent years.

[kaykayt]

There really needs to be a noise map though, similar to a flood map.

Mapping capabilities have come very far in recent years.

Agreed

[SurfRail]

DTMR do provide noise contour mapping searches to us conveyancing types, but I suspect they only relate to state-controlled roads.

[tazzer9]

I get that some rail squeals can be extremely loud, and it should be mitigated by reasonable means.   I have personally noticed that the western coal trains make alot more noise than they really should.  I don't know whether its the rolling stock or the shear weight, but container trains don't seem to make that much noise.

They should just be thankful that they are only low axle load 500m trains instead of the 1500m heavy haul trains of central queensland or the hunter valley.   That would really rustle their jimmies.