Photo credit: Josh Withers
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
This report from a London law firm is titled: “Commuting on the Tube could be a cause of noise-induced hearing loss.” That is absolutely true. London’s wonderful Underground subway system, operated by Transport for London, is a marvel. Especially with the opening of the Elizabeth Line in 2022, it’s possible to get almost anywhere in the London metropolitan area without the need for a car, taxi or Uber. Over a billion people use the Tube annually.
On a recent trip to London, my wife and I took the Tube from London Heathrow to our hotel, to three museums and in the evenings, to three theaters. When we left London, we took the subway to Euston Station to catch our train to Birmingham. We never took a taxi. There’s bus service in Derbyshire, where we spent the next few days, but the distances are greater and our time was short, so we hired a car (as they say over there) and drove around.
London’s subway system dates back to 1863, when the first line was built to reduce street traffic. The law firm report cites excessive noise on the Victoria Line, which is surprising because it dates from the 1960s. Tracks older than this are still in use.
We have been to London several times. Since becoming a noise activist ten years ago, I always insert my earplugs as we walk down the stairs or descend the escalator underground. I have found that some lines are noisier than others, but even the quieter ones are a little too noisy for me. Scientific studies of London subway noise have been done. Subway noise isn’t limited to London, but is also a concern in New York City and on San Francisco’s BART and probably on any subway system across the world.
I’m not an expert in railway technology, but I know that subway travel can be made quieter in at least three ways. One is better track maintenance — such as grinding tracks to smooth junctions and eliminate the annoying squeal from metal wheels grinding against the tracks going around curves. Another is to use rubber tires and ties or insulators between the tracks and the ties, but these require maintenance. I think the best way, which is used in Hong Kong and Singapore, is to isolate the tracks from the platforms by glass partitions with sliding doors that open when the train arrives. That doesn’t reduce the noise level in the subway cars, but reduces noise exposure on the platform dramatically. The glass isolating the track from the platform also provides increased passenger safety, preventing accidental falls or deliberate pushes onto the tracks.
While writing this blog post, I found a scientific article I hadn’t seen before, demonstrating that even brief subway noise exposures caused auditory damage. The auditory damage was reduced by using hearing protection.
My advice to subway travelers in London and the world over is simply to protect your ears. Use hearing protection in the subway and you probably won’t develop noise-induced hearing loss, especially for those with a daily subway commute.
