RAIL noise pollution can now be accurately monitored and analysed
for a fraction of the cost as a result of new research by Rail CRC,
resulting in Australia leading the world in noise monitoring.
Cooperative Research Centre for Railway Engineering and
Technologies (Rail CRC) project team member and RailCorp
Environmental Specialist Dave Anderson said the research, based at
the University of Wollongong and led by Dr Richard Dwight, offered
a huge step forward in rail noise data collection and extraction,
replacing the existing labour-intensive or costly methods.
“This Rail CRC research makes Australia a world leader in
wheel squeal noise analysis,” Mr Anderson said.
“The reason we (RailCorp) found this invaluable is that it
enables us to use extremely inexpensive equipment to capture noise
recordings and then carry out accurate and targeted noise analysis
from recordings collected over an extended period of time - with
all extraneous sounds removed.
“For complex issues like wheel squeal, you need two to four
weeks of continuous monitoring at any one location to effectively
gauge noise problems and review effectiveness of mitigation for
communities located near rail corridors.
“On any one day a number of different freight trains can run
– trains owned and built by different companies carrying
different freight or passengers. Most trains perform differently on
different days, so a brief noise survey can give misleading
results.
“Traditionally it has been a laborious process involving
hundreds of person-hours to analyse the continuous recordings that
are required to capture what’s going on noise-wise –
you have to take out the cicadas, barking dogs, crows and the
countless other unrelated noises you incidentally capture.
“We have developed a system that far more efficiently and
effectively replaces this using an algorithm that automatically
categorises rail noise and automatically gets rid of extraneous
noises.
“Instead of costing $100,000s to monitor wheel squeal for
extended periods, it can now be done for just a few
thousand.”
Mr Anderson said rail transportation offered an environmentally
friendly transport system for both freight and passengers, with
less energy input and fewer greenhouse gas emissions than road
transport.
But noise had always been a key issue for communities living near
rail corridors. Government legislation was increasingly protecting
the community’s quality of life, which meant noise issues
would be an increasingly significant hurdle for the approval of new
rail projects. The cost of restricting the growth of rail was huge
in dollar figures, Mr Anderson said.
“RailCorp has already purchased five sets of low cost noise
recording equipment and the Rail CRC algorithm is virtually in
full-time use to analyse the results,” Mr Anderson said.
“There could well be major international opportunities
– particularly for wheel squeal detection and
analysis.”
The noise monitoring project is one of approximately 40 Rail CRC
research projects established and supported under the Australian
Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Programme.
Rail CRC consists of rail industry partners – Rail Corp, TMG
Rail Technology, ARTC, Pacific National, and Queensland Rail - and
six university partners – the University of Wollongong,
University of South Australia, Central Queensland University,
Monash University, The University of Queensland, and Queensland
University of Technology.
For more information on this and other Rail CRC projects visit
www.railinnovation.com.au
