Rail Noise & Vibration Update July 10, 2006

Overview FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Guidance FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance CREATE Noise and Vibration assessment tools for Freight and Passenger Rail

FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Guidance FRA relies on FTA’s guidance for conventional rail and stationary sources FTA noise & vibration guidance June, 2006 –Incorporated FRA methods for assessing locomotive horn noise at grade crossings –Available on FTA’s website at: _Vibration_Manual.pdf

FTA Revised Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment Guidance Inclusion of noise reference levels for several new transit modes; Fuller explanation of how to handle multimodal highway/transit projects; Expanded discussion of noise and vibration mitigation measures including costs; Refined vibration impact criteria expressed in one- third octave bands for Detailed Analysis; and More examples on how to use the General Noise Assessment procedures for different types of transit projects.

FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance FRA issued final guidance manual in October, 2005 Available on FRA’s Website at: HOME / Passenger Rail or Freight Rail / Environment / Environmental Impact / Guidance on Assessing Noise and Vibration Impacts

FRA Final High Speed Noise and Vibration Guidance Technical approach and methods unchanged Added source data for Maglev TR08 Expanded Noise Screening Procedure Changed ‘Impact’ to ‘Moderate Impact’ Added Appendix E – Conventional Rail Reference Levels

Appendix E Noise Source Reference Levels for Conventional Trains (SEL at 50 feet)

CREATE Noise and Vibration CREATE = Chicago Rail Efficiency And Transportation Efficiency Program Neither FRA nor FTA had freight rail sources in guidance or spreadsheet tools. HMMH Developed a MS Excel spreadsheet model for CEREATE project noise assessment.

CREATE Model Moving Noise Sources Electric and diesel commuter locomotives Commuter passenger cars Light-rail transit (LRT) powered cars Automated-guideway transit (AGT) cars (steel-wheeled and rubber-tired) Monorail Magnetic-levitation (Maglev) trains Freight locomotives Freight cars (typical and empty hopper) Automobiles Buses (city and commuter) Commuter buses

CREATE Model Stationary Noise Sources Track crossovers (switches, turnouts, crossing diamonds) Rail yards or shops Layover tracks Bus storage yards Bus operating facilities Bus transit centers Parking garages Park and ride lots Track Noise Sources Percentage of wheel flats for rail cars Jointed track Embedded track Aerial structure

Input Noise-Sensitive Receptor Data Receptor/case name FTA land use category (1,2 or 3) Distance to noise sources Intervening building rows Presence of noise barriers Input Noise Sources (up to eight) Use source reference list Input Noise Source Activity Vehicles per hour Cars / locomotives per train Duration of trains Vehicle speeds Input Noise Source Details Percentage of wheel flats Jointed track Embedded track Aerial structure Output Noise Level Hourly-equivalent noise level (L eq ) Day-night noise level (L dn ) CREATEModelStructure

End David Valenstein Environmental Program Manager (202)