Railway to start running freight trains past my home.........

tyler80

We used to get the overnight maintenance that sounded like some sort of explosives. I couldn't believe they don't have to give some sort of notice for that level of disruption. I can sleep through a lot but not this and it took about 2 hours to work along the line by our house.

It didn't bother me renting beside the railway, and the 6.30am train made a great alarm clock, but I'd be reluctant to buy because I'm not sure there's much protection against changes in use of the line

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Sensible_Jess wrote: »

I see your point - However, if the you bought near a pub which closed at 11pm and then it got a license to play music until 2am? In that scenario you'd at least get a chance to object to the council.

I wouldn't buy near a pub at all. Because I know licensing hours can be changed.

Much like I wouldn't buy beside a railway, tram line, bus stop, airport etc. Because times of service can change.

In very general terms, the needs of the many tend to outweigh the needs of the few. If moving freight is important for the country and wider economy, then it's unlikely a few objections from people living near railways will be able to stop it. And nor should they.

You may be able to get the railway to put speed restrictions or noise abatement procedures in place after the fact IF the noise can be proven to be disruptive though.

poppysarah

Do you actually notice when a train goes past now during the day?

I'd have thought you'd just be used to it - and if you hear them at night when they start it won't be for long.

DVardysShadow

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

You may be able to get the railway to put speed restrictions or noise abatement procedures in place after the fact IF the noise can be proven to be disruptive though.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

So the train which would come and go in a minute at 60mph now takes 4 minutes to tiptoe past at 15mph - perhaps they should put mufflers on the couplings so they don't make so much noise as the train slows down and speeds up for this speed restriction?

Running_Horse

Davesnave wrote: »

It's rather like people's reactions to cockerel noise, which is longer lasting, and which those of us in the countryside take for granted, or don't, with similar consequences. It can be a shock, to some, finding that all hell breaks loose on the pretty farm next door at 4am! :rotfl:

Hmmm.

I live in the country, and the only cockerel noise comes from the hobby chicken keepers on the modern housing estate.

If only I had a shotgun...

00ec25

a story ...
I bought a cheap house, it was cheap because it is near an airport, I knew this because planes flew overhead at 2,000ft when I viewed before buying. iIbought it cos it was cheap. It has increased in value since then - but not by as much as my other houses which are not near an airport, but it does not matter, it is my home and I live there and I get what I want from it. I am used (conditioned?) to the planes now.

if you head north from it there are only 2 roads out, both have level crossings. To get more trains into the airport the train service is now to be increased, the crossing gates we have recently been told will be closed for 44 minutes out of 60 between at least 07:00 - 21:00. heading north is the main way out of the area, going south adds at least 7 miles to a journey.

the NIMBYS are protesting, the council is supporting this economic development opportunity, I am indifferent... I bought a house under a flight path near a rail line, noise and access were always going to be an issue and were always going to be outside my control.

Welcome to the world of the not NIMBY

jonnyd281

Sorry OP, but the railway line was there first, some of the ports I go to around the UK have had some very nice (translate as also expensive) houses and flats built within a very short distance from working quays (one port it is less than 500 meters), and guess what the residents of these (new) flats and houses are complaining about the noise.

Davesnave

Running_Horse wrote: »

Hmmm.

I live in the country, and the only cockerel noise comes from the hobby chicken keepers on the modern housing estate.

If only I had a shotgun...

I wouldn't have thought people on modern housing estates would have much use for cockerels, breeding giving a relatively poor return on a small scale and fertile eggs being cheap on Ebay. Round here, we have a few to do the necessary job, but there are always too many, and most become dinners quite early in their careers.

Still, look on the bright side, you're lucky it's not guinea fowl.

chris_m

Davesnave wrote: »

Still, look on the bright side, you're lucky it's not guinea fowl.

Oh yes. My parent used to live in France and their neighbour kept guinea fowl (as well as chickens & ducks) - what a racket, it was like someone hacksawing a sheet of rusty metal with a very blunt saw. Went on for hours, too. You couldn't blame him though, it was a smallholding on the edge of a tiny hamlet in the back of beyond - small-scale stock-keeping is the done thing around there, and they were a lovely family. Always very friendly and welcoming to "les anglais" but, then, so was everyone around there.

There was one great upside of course. At neck-pulling time, he always gave them a couple - or would that be a brace?

TwistedPsycho

Sensible_Jess wrote: »

I found this out as I got a 'note' through my door from Network rail saying they were carrying out 'upgrade works' to the line for a few days and apologising for the noise whilst the work was being carried out. No other details were given, just some spiel about how this was part of a plan to 'improve Britain's railways'.:rotfl:

I smelt a rat and through many hours of web searching have discovered the intention to start running freight trains on the line at some future point (no date specified). The trains will be re-routed from a busier route used currently...This information was not directly through Network Rail's website using the reference number I had been given or my council's website which held no information at all on the 'upgrade works', it was through searching the web for information about 'my' railway and looking at various 'Strategic Freight Network' documents outlining future plans (most recent was from March 2011).

Not knowing where you are located, I can not tell you exactly what is planned, however freight trains do not just start running overnight and plans for new freight routes are many, many months, if not years in the planning. For example; a current scheme to allow bigger containers to run from Southampton docks to Birmingham has been 3 years in planning and actual re-building works; over Christmas just gone, most of the West side of reading was closed so that major engineering works take place..... do you know how long it takes to pre-book a vehicle to transport a 1000 tonne bridge into place?

The note coming through your door about "a few nights" of upgrade work is likely to be just that and won't necessarily be in your immediate area of what can be a 3 or 4 mile closure of line every single night. To make sure that the rail network does not cancel passenger trains any more than necessary, the railway HAS to run maintainance at night as well as at weekends. Every night THOUSANDS of railway staff decend on worksites that are planned well in advance, which is how Network Rail managed to put a note in your door and give you notice that it is going to happen. How do I know.... because I am one of those people. I know what maintainance work I have coming up for the next four weeks, and I am at the bottom of the chain so I can assure you its been planned and planned much longer than that.

Network Rail however has no real obligation to notify you of any change of use of the line at the bottom of your garden. The railway line is there, in some areas the use of such varies from week to week dependent on whether certain lines are closed for maintainance work, or whether a certain commodity needs to be transported (coal? oil? military? nuclear?) either at short notice, or when passenger trains are not running.

Whether you legally have to declare this information I am not a legal advisor though, but I assume that your vendor declared it to you if you are worreid about hiding same yourself?



I am sure if your commuting community would prefer though, we can close the line during daytime hours for a couple of weeks and make everyone get a bus to work?