QuieterRail
Context and issues
QuieterRail (2024-2027) is a winning research project under the European Horizon Europe – Europe’s Rail programme, involving sixteen industrial and academic partners. The project is led by UNIFE, assisted by Vibratec as Technical Coordinator. QuieterRail is a continuation of the previous Shift2Rail SILVARSTAR and TRANSIT projects.
Although rail is the safest and most climate-friendly mode of transport, noise and vibration remain major environmental concerns. In France, more than 11 million people are exposed to noise from rail transport, with almost 1 million exposed to high levels (source ADEME, 2021). People living close to railway lines no longer accept noise and vibration pollution, and the foreseeable increase in traffic requires a reduction in emissions.
Project challenges
01
Improving the methods used for noise mapping
02
Reduce noise and vibrations transmitted through the ground, taking into account the economic impact
03
Adapting SILVARSTAR vibration prediction software to urban configurations
04
Validate the models developed by measuring noise and vibrations in situ
A project based on 4 key areas
Area 1 :
Improving the methods used in noise mapping and in the acoustic approval procedures for rolling stock. On the numerical modelling side, the improvements concern the situations of trains running in curves (rolling noise, screeching noise, wheel/rail flange friction noise). On the experimental side, the work focuses mainly on the transposition of noise when moving from one test site to another and on methods for certifying new trains, while taking uncertainties into account.
Area 2 :
Mitigating noise and vibrations transmitted by the ground, while taking into account the economic impact and seeking the best cost/benefit trade-off. The project will evaluate on-board monitoring systems for rail acoustic roughness and grinding strategies, making it possible to reduce emissions ‘at source’. At the same time, methods and tools will be developed to simultaneously assess and optimise life-cycle costs (e.g. installation and maintenance costs of mitigation solutions) and expected benefits (monetisation of health and environmental benefits).
Area 3 :
Completing the ground-borne vibration prediction software developed in SILVARSTAR by adapting it to urban configurations (curved vibration, impact excitation, database of ground and building transfer functions, etc.). Develop an indicator to characterise vehicle vibration emissions independently of the track. Continuing to integrate these methods into a software platform.
Area 4 :
Carrying out the in situ noise and vibration measurements needed to validate the models developed for predicting noise and vibration. Two test sites have been selected for this purpose: the Lyon tramway network and a mainline test site.
Results & presentation
Experimentally validated methods for predicting noise and ground vibrations
Curve noise is increasingly mentioned in the technical specifications for new rolling stock, with the ‘right’ to produce noise limited to a few dB compared with straight-line traffic. Depending on the geometry of the curve, different types of noise can be generated: rolling noise, wheel flange/rail friction noise, squeal noise on small radius curves. Models will be developed and validated for each of these noises.
The transposition of pass-by noise is a recurring problem during acoustic acceptance tests for new rolling stock, where the track on which the vehicle will be operated is not necessarily the same as that used for the acceptance tests. Transposition methods have been proposed and partially evaluated in previous projects (ACOUTRAIN and TRANSIT). QuieterRail will extend the scope of validation of these methods by considering frequent traffic configurations in urban areas (laying of flexible track, laying of track on a slab).
Technical recommendations for on-board systems for reading the acoustic quality of tracks
An effective way of reducing rail rolling noise is to monitor the acoustic roughness of the track using on-board measurement systems and then to perform acoustic rail grinding if necessary. A comparative analysis of on-board measurement systems used to monitor rail roughness by infrastructure managers and grinding service providers will be carried out. The aim will be to establish a harmonised procedure for determining rail roughness levels from on-board sensor data.
Software for simultaneous noise, vibration and life cycle cost optimisation
Noise and/or vibration reduction solutions will be quantified in terms of life cycle costs (installation costs, maintenance costs, etc.), incorporating a financial value associated with environmental and health impacts. An open-source web tool will be developed to optimise the entire system by simultaneously considering noise, ground vibrations and life-cycle costs on railway tracks.
A software package for simultaneously studying the environmental impact of noise and vibration on a large scale using a single software platform
The collaboration with Wölfel, ISVR, KU Leuven and Vibratec will result in a unique software platform that will enable engineers to carry out noise and vibration environmental impact studies in a single software environment. The proposed hybrid calculation/measurement modular approach and the databases integrated into the software (rolling stock, track, ground and building) offer total modelling flexibility at every stage of the design process. The capabilities of the software developed in will be extended to take account of curves and impact excitations (e.g. crossing switches and crossings). The databases associated with the software, in particular the building transfer functions, will be expanded.
Vibratec’s team
Pascal BOUVET, PhD
Technical coordinator
Martin Rissmann
WP1 leader
Rita Tufano, PhD
Noise in curve
Julien Vernay
Ground vibration
Key figures
4 M€
of funding
36
months of work
16
software tools developed
Funding
Europe’s Rail (EU-Rail) is the new European Joint Undertaking for research and innovation in the rail sector, established under the Horizon Europe programme (2020-2027). Europe’s Rail is the successor to Shift2Rail. The QuieterRail project is funded by this research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 10117686.
The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Europe’s Rail. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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