Would you buy a house near railway track?

Amanita_2

Been there and done that. It was a half hourly service running alongside the garden just below in a cutting. Used to make the windows rattle but you do get used to the noise. Far far worse was the sound of trail bikes on the waste land on the otherside and it was those that drove us to move.

We had no trouble at all selling.

abankerbutnotafatcat

We have railway lines 200m either side of us - so not as near as you are describing but on both sides. One side is a branch line with little traffic. However, the other side is the Brighton mainline and runs frequently and all night (both local and Gatwick Express trains run 24/7). We can hear them sometimes and it's a gentle sort of noise but i'm not sure what it's like for those who are closer.

As others have said, it is a big advantage for us living near a train station - in fact it's the reason we moved there!! With your garden backing on to it could give you an element of privacy. I guess you're going to have to sit in the garden and see what it's like and if you don't mind it someone else won't either.

bclark

I work in the industry and one warning that I would give you about buying next to a railway line is that you have very few rights at all when it comes to what the railway does.

I don't think the railway is a bad neighbour and as you have said a few trains and hour is not too bad but they can increase that frequency without telling at all. Engineering works will also take place at night and again they don't need your permission, although good practice would be to warn you via letter.

They can also put something like a large signal or similar structure at the end of your garden without any permission needed and this could change where trains stop.

Lastly its very important for you to find out not just what is there now but what used to be there, for example was there a second line that has since been removed or a siding etc? The reason for this is that the Railway has certain permitted development rights that allow them to reinstate elements of infrastructure without planning permission so a quiet single line could become a busy double line.

Sugared-frog

I grew up living with the London to Bristol line at the end of the garden - a much larger garden than the rest of the road. I loved watching the trains as a child, and rarely notice the sound of them even now when back at my parents and out in the garden. I would rather have a railway than a motorway.

Eton_Rifle

I wouldn't fancy several hundred bored passengers peering into my house and garden every 15 minutes, no.

I'd also be paranoid about the sanitary facilities of the older rolling stock - when I sit out in the garden, it's the sun that I want to be bathing in!

Thirtysix

Having grown up in a rural village in the New Forest,if anyone suggested I would be living withing 100yards of a railway track back then,I would have said "No way!". However,due to employment and financial reasons and having to move within a commute of London,I found myself living firstly next door but 3 to the main line to Kings x and subsequently,opposite (aboout 150yds away).
You really DO get used to the noise and it is very quick and much quieter than trains in years gone by.I would far rather have trains near me for a few seconds an hour than a fume-throwing,constantly noisy motorway.

beedeedee

No I wouldn't buy a house near a railway line - simple as that.

Helsen

My brother lives near a fairly busy railway line and he likes it / never had any issues.