First ‘silent’ railway track to be installed in UK

Innovative railway track which reduces the noise of trains passing over has been installed for the first time in the UK, at Blackfriars station in London.

The special railway track, called SilentTrack^®, was developed by British scientists and engineers at Tata Steel and will reduce rail traffic noise in and around the station by up to 50%.

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

The installation of 0.8 miles (1.3km) of SilentTrack is part of the Thameslink Programme – a major improvement project which will provide more frequent, longer, brand new trains and big improvements to three central London stations. The project is due to be completed in 2018.

David Benton, one of the Tata Steel engineers who developed SilentTrack, said: “The Thameslink Programme will improve rail transport for passengers in London by enabling more frequent and longer trains. With increased traffic through Blackfriars it was important to consider measures to keep noise to a minimum for local residents and businesses around Blackfriars.

“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.”

SilentTrack uses patented dampers attached to the sides of the track to absorb vibration in the rail as the train moves over it. The dampers are made in the UK from Scunthorpe-made steel encased in a rubber-like material, and are acoustically tuned to the track. The dampers cancel out noise from the track as the train passes over it which reduces the overall noise impact of the train.

“Every form of railway track design responds differently as trains pass over it, so the noise produced has a different frequency spectrum,” added David. “We analyse the track characteristics and ensure the damper is configured to absorb vibration at the frequencies that are producing the greatest sound power.”

Mike Poulter, Tata Steel’s rail marketing manager, said: “SilentTrack is an innovative and unique product designed to meet the need for quieter rail traffic in projects around the world.

“Our research engineers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, helped to develop the product after we identified growing public demand for noise reduction, particularly in urban areas. SilentTrack also provides a simple, cost-effective solution to address requirements of the new European noise legislation.”

SilentTrack has undergone extensive technical and safety testing to check it does not interfere with the operation or maintenance of railways. More than 90 miles (140km) of SilentTrack has already been installed worldwide, including Sydney, Australia, Oslo, Norway and the Rhine Valley, Germany.

SilentTrack was developed when Tata Steel engineers teamed up with acoustic experts at the world renowned lnstitute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton in the UK. In-depth research was undertaken into the sources of railway noise. The team went on to develop a system to reduce noise at its source concentrating on the wheel/ rail interface.

Q&A
SilentTrack installed at Blackfriars, London

Q) Are we the only company manufacturing SilentTrack? If not, are we the market leaders in Europe / the world, by what percentage?
A) The SilentTrack system is a unique patented design (so no one else can copy or manufacture it). There are, however, other systems that reduce rail noise available from competitors. Tata Steel is the market leader in Europe and worldwide, both in terms of performance (i.e. noise reduction obtained) and market share - probably around 40% of all installations worldwide have been done using our system.

(Background - http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/products/rail_products_and_services/rail_products/silent/)

Q) How long did it take us to develop this technology?
A) Four years.

Q) Do we put the dampers on or are we just providing the steels?
A) We manufacture the dampers and supply to Network Rail. NR then contract a company to install them on the track with our technical supervision. We do, of course, also supply new rail track.

Q) Does this have applications for projects like HS2?
A) There has been analysis of how noise can be reduced along certain stretches of the new line. It should be remembered, however, that the most significant noise source at high speeds (>250km/h) is air displacement.

Q) The SilentTrack brochure refers to reducing peak track noise levels by 3 - 7dB. How does this equate to 50%.
A) Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, meaning every decrease of 3dB is equivalent to a 50% reduction in sound intensity. Modelling at Blackfriars has shown a predicted reduction of between 3 and 5 dB(A).

Notes to editors:
SilentTrack^® is a registered trademark by Tata Steel UK Limited.

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