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Channel Tunnel Rail Link
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wished to have an independent assessment of the Government-backed Channel Tunnel Rail Link proposal through their Borough. They were particularly concerned that the route would follow the existing London, Tilbury and Southend Line at surface level until entering tunnels at Barking station. This would mean running in a very narrow corridor between existing rows of dense housing, and they considered that the tunnel should be extended to avoid the environmental impact of the surface-line proposed.
The Borough engaged Atkins to act as specialist advisor on operational noise to review the specialist assessments made by Union Railways, the scheme’s promoters, and to advise on noise impact. The first step was for Atkins to undertake a thorough ambient noise survey to include night-time and weekend measurements to supplement the brief sample survey made by CTRL’s consultants. Atkins also generated an independent computer model of airborne noise levels.
This work included a visit to France to undertake measurements of the Train à Grand Vitesse (TGV) and Eurostar trains running to Sangatte, which highlighted the issue of locomotive fan-noise that might not be screened by the noise barriers being proposed through Dagenham.
Atkins used their RailNoise software to generate airborne noise impact plans showing that 469 properties would be significantly affected by noise, with a large number of receptors receiving noise increases of 11 to 15 decibels, LAeq (24 - hour). Many more houses would qualify for noise insulation than under Union Railway’s assessment. Our construction noise assessment showed that many residents would require re-housing during the construction phase.
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