Rotherham experts help cut train noise

ROTHERHAM engineers could be making life easier for people who live next to railway tracks by developing “silent tracks”.

Tata Steel Ltd’s Swinden Technology Centre, off Moorgate Road, Rotherham, have helped to develop Silent Track, which claims to reduce rail noise by up to 50%.

The system is already in operation in 13 countries around the world and has now been installed at London’s Blackfriars station to help reduce the noise from one of the capital’s busiest stations.

SilentTrack uses patented dampers attached to the sides of the track to absorb vibrations and has been used as part of the Thameslink Programme, which aims to improve London’s transport system by introducing longer trains and a more frequent service.

David Benton, one of the Tata Steel engineers who developed SilentTrack, said: “SilentTrack will reduce peak noise levels as trains pass over by about a half.

“This means that the enhanced railway, when it opens later this year, will have no greater noise impact than the existing railway.”

Engineers at Rotherham’s Swinden Technology Centre, which employs more than 300 people, teamed up with acoustic experts at the world renowned institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton to develop SilentTrack.

READ MORE