Reducing railway noise is a major challenge to society and a key priority fopr SNCF Group

• The social cost of noise pollution in France is estimated at €147bn a year.
• The rail sector accounts for less than 8% of this total, or €11.2bn. 
• Reducing railway noise is essential to reach our target of doubling rail’s share of passenger and freight transport.
• For SNCF Group employees, lower noise levels mean a healthier and safer working environment.

What creates railway noise?

• Train traffic
• Station announcements
• Works and worksites
• Industrial operations.

How can we reduce it?

• By reducing network noise and limiting its impact on the people who live and work near railway lines, in compliance with noise pollution limits for train traffic (day and night), worksites, and business activities. 
• By implementing preventive and mitigation programmes including track classification by noise level, eco-design for all projects, installation of soundproofing panels, and insulation of sensitive buildings and structures exposed to noise levels over 73 decibels (dB) during the day and 68 dB at night.
• By improving rail acoustics, notably through replacing short rails with long ones, installing concrete sleepers, and using sound-absorbing materials and noise barriers.
• By reducing noise emissions for each train model (in stations, during acceleration, in operation, and when braking, through measures such as composite brake shoes and improved aerodynamic design. 
• By reducing noise from station announcements, and improving overall station acoustics using day/night adaptations, platform presence detectors, noise-free zones, acoustic modelling and detailed project execution studies. 

How can we protect our employees from noise?

• Provide personal protection equipment suited to each role, including earplugs, helmets and ear defenders.
• Install sound-absorbing materials at our industrial sites.
• Use soundproofing equipment to reduce noise from works trains during track maintenance. 
• Locate platform entrance gates away from train power cars to limit our onboarding teams’ exposure to noise from idling locomotives. 

Examples of noise levels

• A TGV power car idling at a platform produces 92 to 95 decibels (dB), roughly equivalent to the sound of a symphony orchestra.
• Inside the cab of a mainline locomotive, noise levels range from 78 to 87 dB, somewhere between the sound of a barking dog and a kitchen mixer.