The economic valuation of train horn noise: A US case study

This paper provides a property value-based estimate of the dollar cost of train horn noise in a residential neighborhood in a small town, Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania, US. Residential property values are found to decrease by about $4800, or 4.1%, per 10 db of added noise exposure, for an aggregate total of $4,088,799 in 2004 dollars. The primary study was supplemented with information from a neighborhood survey. Dollar value estimates of train horn costs could prove useful in facilitating balanced benefit-cost analyses of horn noise abatement policies such as quiet zones, wayside horns, underpasses, or street closures.