Train noise in focus: Empa researcher Bart Van Damme with a new type of rail pad that has been tested in train traffic. Image: Empa
Train noise in focus: Empa researcher Bart Van Damme with a new type of rail pad that has been tested in train traffic. Image: Empa - To reduce rail noise for residents, noise barriers or quieter wheel systems and brakes are not the only options. An inconspicuous component under the railway tracks is a beacon of hope for quieter rail traffic for a team of researchers with Empa involvement - and first tests on passing trains show a positive effect. Railroad noise is often a major nuisance for residents living near railway tracks. To reduce it, researchers at Empa and the Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud, under the leadership of EPFL, have rethought an inconspicuous component of the rail system: rail pads made of elastic polymers, which are inserted between the rails and concrete sleepers. They serve to protect the highly stressed track made of compacted ballast and concrete sleepers. In Switzerland, these pads are usually made of hard plastic, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
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