Detrimental Decibels: A Study of Noise Levels in Vancouver's SkyTrain System (2022)

The paper basically reinforces one of the tenets of transit noise and vibration analyses: if you don&#x27;t maintain your system (specifically wheels and rails in the case of noise), things tend to get louder over time. BCRTC knows this [0] and they&#x27;re working on it. As with all things, it&#x27;s about time and money, but they are trying to be proactive with vehicle and track maintenance via rail grinding and complaint tracking.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.wheel-rail-seminars.com&#x2F;archives&#x2F;2022&#x2F;rt-papers&#x2F;presentations&#x2F;RT04%20Peeter%20Vesik%20-%20Final%20-%20WRI%202022%20-%20Peeter%20V%20-%20Aiming%20for%20a%20State%20of%20Good%20Repair.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.wheel-rail-seminars.com&#x2F;archives&#x2F;2022&#x2F;rt-pap...</a>

The rail grinding noise of those Mark 1 Skytrain cars are really something. They literally made my ears hurt. For reference New York&#x27;s subway rail noise never made my ears hurt that much.<p>The explanation I read online is that Translink (the transport authority) lost one of the 2 rail grinders they contracted, and had to buy a grinder for use. So for a few years, while waiting for the grinder to arrive, the rails were not getting the regular grinding needed that&#x27;d lessen the wheels-on-rail noise.<p>An unverified rumor I heard was that Translink cheaped out and bought a batch of substandard rails that are softer than needed. This means the rails wear out and become out of spec faster. The issue was compounded by the fact that the softer rails were used to replace a large portions of routes with sharp curves.<p>The rolling stocks use linear induction propulsion, which means there is no electric motor on the train. The trains are very light as a result and require different maintenance.

&gt; Studies in Toronto and New York have shown that sound intensity peaks in their respective transit systems exceed medically-safe sound level limits<p>I still remember the shrieking rail noise when the subway in Toronto took the tight corners into and out of Union Station, and the same for the streetcar that went south from there to the waterfront. Always felt like that gave me some permanent hearing damage since I often didn&#x27;t cover my ears quickly enough. Have not been there for 15 years though - is it still like that?

When Skytrain first came out it was touted about how quiet it was vs. other metro systems. [1] The problem (as others have pointed out) is just the Mark I trains are 40 years old and the maintenance hasn&#x27;t kept up with the track and the wheels. Things wear out.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;pTsSXdSjU1I?t=455" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;pTsSXdSjU1I?t=455</a>

I don&#x27;t have anything particularly enlightening to say but I once visited an apartment that was within a few meters of the skytrain track. Thing was loud as can be and made me nope out very quickly. The place wasn&#x27;t even cheaper than equivalent (minus deafening noise) options, maybe they were hoping to find someone who was already deaf.

And then you have Montreal with their very quiet rubber wheeled metro system. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mcgill.ca&#x2F;oss&#x2F;article&#x2F;student-contributors-technology-did-you-know&#x2F;montreal-vs-toronto-metro-rubber-or-steel" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mcgill.ca&#x2F;oss&#x2F;article&#x2F;student-contributors-techn...</a><p>The problem with the Vancouver system is the combination of it being above ground and noisy. Ideally, you want to build density directly beside the tracks. That said, I lived near the tracks for a few years and although we could hear it, it wasn&#x27;t that bad. We were fairly high up and had good windows.

London Underground destroys all other transit on the planet when it comes to noise, and ironically, it&#x27;s not even the trains themselves, it&#x27;s the effing speakers<p>MIND THE GAP<p>louder than an Iron Maiden concert, it&#x27;s unbearable and unnecessary, no idea why they don&#x27;t turn that shit down

The worst is the squeal of the wheels against the track in the semicircular tunnel from Waterfront to Burrard (or in the reverse direction), in the summer, when people leave windows open. I think this is due to the axles being solid: no differential spin.

I&#x27;d wear noise canceling earbuds or earplugs if I didn&#x27;t care about keeping track of my surroundings. Hearing loss isn&#x27;t exactly top of the mind when riding BART :)