Sound field characteristics of underground railway stations – Effect of interior materials and noise source positions

In the case of most underground railway stations, no acoustical solutions are used to reduce train noise. Because the reflecting features of train noise in an underground station are not known, appropriate methods for controlling these features have yet to be established. The aim of this study was to clarify the sound field characteristics of underground stations by putting a sound source and receiver on the railway track and platform, respectively. The impulse responses for two vacant underground stations were measured to clarify the effects of the interior materials of the station (Comparison I), and the sound source was put in each station and tunnel to clarify the effect of the noise source positions (Comparison II). Results showed that the sound fields were similar between the stations whose lateral walls were covered with either metallic or fire-resistant wooden panels (Comparison I), and that the sound field for the sound sources near or in the tunnel presented a higher strength (G) by 5.1 dB and longer reverberation time (EDT) by 0.7 s compared to the sound source in the station (Comparison II). The sound sources in the tunnel presented strong and long reverberations at around 500 Hz due to the convergence effect of the tunnel. Therefore, this study proposes a platform screen with doors to limit noise transmission into the platform.

Highlight
► No acoustical solutions are used to reduce train noise in underground stations.
► We clarify the sound field characteristics putting a sound source on the track.
► The impulse responses for vacant underground stations were measured.
► The sound sources in the tunnel presented strong and long reverberation.
► This study proposes a platform screen to limit noise transmission into the platform.