[HN Gopher] Detrimental Decibels: A Study of Noise Levels in Van...
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       Detrimental Decibels: A Study of Noise Levels in Vancouver's
       SkyTrain System
        
       Author : luu
       Score  : 16 points
       Date   : 2025-01-13 09:49 UTC (13 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (open.library.ubc.ca)
 (TXT) w3m dump (open.library.ubc.ca)
        
       | Anechoic wrote:
       | The paper basically reinforces one of the tenets of transit noise
       | and vibration analyses: if you don'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're working
       | on it. As with all things, it's about time and money, but they
       | are trying to be proactive with vehicle and track maintenance via
       | rail grinding and complaint tracking.
       | 
       | [0] https://archive.wheel-rail-seminars.com/archives/2022/rt-
       | pap...
        
       | guardiangod wrote:
       | The rail grinding noise of those Mark 1 Skytrain cars are really
       | something. They literally made my ears hurt. For reference New
       | York's subway rail noise never made my ears hurt that much.
       | 
       | 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'd lessen the wheels-on-rail noise.
       | 
       | 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.
       | 
       | 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.
        
         | xattt wrote:
         | > LIM
         | 
         | The downside to LIMs is that they have ann unexpected
         | derailment/failure mode (1), as manifested by the 2023 SRT
         | derailment.
         | 
         | Briefly, the magnetic repulsion/attraction forces of an
         | accelerating train caused a section of the reaction rail to
         | catch on the train, which catapulted a train car.
         | 
         | I used to live near the SRT and those trains got louder and
         | louder with age.
         | 
         | (1) https://stevemunro.ca/2024/01/31/the-scarborough-rt-
         | derailme...
        
       | bedobi wrote:
       | London Underground destroys all other transit on the planet when
       | it comes to noise, and ironically, it's not even the trains
       | themselves, it's the effing speakers
       | 
       | MIND THE GAP
       | 
       | louder than an Iron Maiden concert, it's unbearable and
       | unnecessary, no idea why they don't turn that shit down
        
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       (page generated 2025-01-13 23:00 UTC)