Review of research into wheel/rail rolling noise reduction

Rolling noise is the main source of noise from railway operations at conventional speeds, and even at 300 km/h, it is at least as important as aerodynamic noise. In the last decade, several large research projects have been carried out across Europe with the aim of reducing wheel/rail rolling noise at source. Much of the research has concentrated on freight traffic as this has been perceived as the major source of nuisance because of its relatively high noise levels and the operational necessity of running at night. The solutions considered have included means of reducing wheel and rafl surface roughness, improved wheel and track designs for low noise generation, and local shielding applied to the vehicle and track. These have demonstrated a number of successful concepts, including wheel shape optimization, wheel damping, rail damping, bogie shrouds, low barriers, and modified tread braking. This article summarizes the main results obtained and discusses the prospects for implementation of the technology in practice.