Noise and vibration
Urban density comes with certain physical pollutants, primarily noise. Transport is among the sources of acoustic discomfort in urban areas. In view of this, the Company places special emphasis on minimising adverse physical factors and takes steps to reduce acoustic impact and vibration.
Minimising noise and vibration is a top priority for the Company’s Environmental Strategy.
In 2023, we put in place the following initiatives to reduce noise impact from railway transport infrastructure facilities:
- laid 4,300 km of continuous welded rails;
- ground 29,600 km of rails;
- ground 1,200 interlocked turnouts;
- welded 38,300 rail joints using the aluminothermic method;
- installed 18.4 m high‑elasticity rail pads;
- planted 7,400 trees and 10,700 shrubs.
- installed over 19,200 km of noise protection screens.
In 2023, Russian Railways continued its large‑scale project of noise mapping in the most critical areas to assess the noise pollution impact and distribution in urban areas near railway infrastructure. The Company developed 26 noise maps to inform collaborative efforts with local authorities to bring down noise levels in residential areas to acceptable levels and implement effective noise protection measures.
Russian Railways maintains ongoing communication with citizens, addressing their concerns and implementing a range of measures to reduce acoustic discomfort in urban areas. These efforts include checking and adjusting loudspeaker operation modes and introducing advanced two‑way radio voice communication technologies for railway environments.
As part of Russian Railways' R&D plan, 2023 saw the completion of the first stage of a roadmap for comprehensive studies on railway‑related noise pollution. This stage involved implementing noise mitigation measures and compiling a classifier of noise sources categorised by rolling stock type. This classifier will serve as the foundation for developing noise measurement programmes and methodologies in 2024.
Every year, we implement measures to reduce noise and vibration both at the noise source (wheel‑rail interface) and along the route of transmission to the protected site.