Railway Noise Abatement Strategies: State of the Art and Applicability for Ohio Corridors

Rail and highway projects tend to run in tandem. Typically, residential areas along rail lines are located at grade separations. As a result, residents can be adversely impacted by rail noise and track vibration. Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) consistently receives complaints from residents related to rail noise. Currently, ODOT does not have any defined noise abatement strategies for rail projects. Research is needed to determine if there are feasible, reasonable, cost-effective ways to dampen rail noise for residential and other noise sensitive areas along rail lines. Research Goal: Identify innovative techniques and/or designs that can aid in the mitigation of rail noise. For this study, rail noise is referring to sounds coming from the tracks and subsequent vibrations, not the train horn. Of particular interest is railroad crossing elimination projects, which are subject to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assignment and typically include an at grade crossing and the potential for road relocation above existing rail lines. Additional items that should be taken into consideration include ownership, requirements, and costs for installation and ongoing maintenance of all proposed solutions. Potential Benefits: Effective noise abatement strategies for rail noise could extend benefits currently experienced from highway noise abatement strategies to residential and commercial areas located along rail lines. This includes but is not limited to increased quality of life. The goal of this research is to systematically research and evaluate emerging noise abatement strategies for potential implementation in Ohio's railroad projects. The research team will directly address the effectiveness (cost per dB reduced), cost (including construction and maintenance costs, such as cost per mile), reliability, and implementation hurdles for each strategy, as well as ownership considerations. They will also consider combining measures (e.g., dampers, a short barrier, and a track pad) to achieve additive benefits beyond those reported in existing studies. The proposed project advances the state of practice for railroad noise abatement strategies from scattered information worldwide to a more defined, deployable set. It provides an in-depth evaluation of innovative rail noise abatement solutions, moving beyond the conventional highway noise wall paradigm to more adaptable, rail-specific approaches.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $150,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  44188

  125564

  130539

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Ohio Department of Transportation

  Research Program
  1980 West Broad Street
  Columbus, OH  United States  43223
• Project Managers:

  Fout, Vicky

• Performing Organizations:

  Wright State University

  3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
  Dayton, OH  United States  45435-0001
• Principal Investigators:

  Attariani, Hamed

• Start Date: 20260615
• Expected Completion Date: 20271215
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/SPR/Research/reportsandplans/Lists/Final%20Reports%20All/Item/displayifs.aspx?List=47f3581d%2Df21c%2D403b%2D9358%2Dfea0b008772b&ID=830&Source=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edot%2Estate%2Eoh%2Eus%2FDivisions%2FPlanning%2

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Noise control; Railroads; Vibration control
• Subject Areas: Environment; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01992094
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Ohio Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 44188, 125564, 130539
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 9 2026 10:26AM