Study on effective sound barriers for high speed trains

Abstract

In order to reduce noise along railway lines, sound barriers have been widely used. However, the effects of these barriers on railway noise have not been understood thoroughly. In this paper, the relative acoustical performances of a number of sound barriers in typical Shinkansen railway situations are first investigated through laboratory measurements using scale models. In the scale model studies, the effects of various types and shapes of the sound barriers on Shinkansen noise are investigated. The results show that the most effective barrier is Y-profile type. This is because the Y-profile barrier has noticeable effects on both mitigating the noise increase due to the multiple reflections of sound between the barrier and the vehicle surface and widening the shadow zone behind the barrier because of double diffractive effects. Secondly, the effect of the Y-profile barriers is examined by field tests with running Shinkansen vehicles. The results show similar trends to those in the laboratory measurements.