Photo credit: Elena Saharova
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The Quiet Coalition’s blogs have covered subway noise in New York City and London’s Tube, both of which have been studied scientifically. Today, I want to report that quieter urban mass transit is possible.
On a recent trip to Scandinavia, I had the occasion to take the Copenhagen Metro from the airport to the downtown Kongens Nytorv station. I have hyperacusis, a sensitivity to noise that doesn’t bother others. When I take mass transit, I always have earplugs with me, because I find the sound levels painfully loud. To my pleasant surprise, I didn’t need my earplugs. Using the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety’s sound meter app on my iPhone, I found the noise level in the train to be a tolerable LAeq (equivalent continuous sound level) of 74 decibels.
I didn’t measure the noise level on the platform, because the tracks are isolated by glass walls, with sliding doors that open automatically when the train pulls into the station. I am aware that rail noise can disrupt sleep and has non-auditory health effects, but was unable to measure rail noise in the community. However, Copenhagen’s Metro dealt with that problem with sound walls on the above-ground portions of the track.
I would encourage anyone bothered by noise levels in local subways — on platforms waiting for the next train or in the rail cars themselves — to bring Copenhagen’s Metro to the attention of their elected representatives and mass transit operator. If Copenhagen can operate a quiet, efficient mass transit system, so can other cities. A quieter mass transit system will contribute to a quieter and better world for all.
