HS2 Rail line to be built 650m from new home

james231287

Hi all,

I just wanted to get a few peoples' opinions on something that came back in our searches.

Myself and my partner have recently had our offer accepted on a dream home and all was going well until we found out the second phase of the HS2 is being proposed 650m away from our home.

The first trains on this route wont be running until at least 2033 and our house in in an estate with many houses and trees between ourselves and the proposed track.

Obviously its impossible to know if we will even be able to hear the trains, even if the HS2 goes ahead!

Does anyone have any experience of living within 1km from a rail line - what is it like?

I'd also love to hear from those who haven't lived near on before (like us) and whether this would put them off? Obviously we would lose around £1,000 in fees and it is 20+ years away, are we being silly and over-reacting?

Thanks,

James

highguyuk

Because of this "unknown", your property price will be affected for 20+ years.

Also consider not only the sound of trains using the line when finished, but the potential disturbance the construction of the line may cause.

Dimey

When the Channel Tunnel rail link was mooted in Kent, homes in the proposed path were unable to sell for years as house buyers were put off by the uncertainty.

This went on for many years. People couldn't sell their houses while the line was being built and it was only years after the line was up and running that the stigma ended for all except the homes closest to the line.

You could probably google reports to see how people were affected.

650m certainly sounds as though you'd hear the trains or feel the vibration.

My personal view is that I'd find another house where the ability to re-sell and re-sell value is not so uncertain.

ACG

I cant comment about HS2 specifically, but my grandparents house backs on to a train line, ive lived in a flat which backs on to a train line, and i have now bought a house which is about 150m from a train line.

To say it doesnt bother me would be an understatement. I hear maybe 2 trains an hour if i have the window open and i hear it for about 2 seconds. So about 20 seconds of my day is interrupted by a train.

Go and find a major train line - west coast mainline. Find somewhere that is about 3-400 m away from it and just see what noise you hear and whether it would put you off or not.

Personally it wouldnt bother me in the slightest, however someone has raised a good point in that the disruption whilst its being built could be an issue.

Theyre building tram lines in manchester at the minute and they seem to have been affecting my travel for a year or so.

CLAPTON

it doesn't matter whether the line is actually a problem; the issue is whether you could sell easily if you need to during the next 25 years or more; there is no way of telling what people will feel once the construction starts

moneyistooshorttomention

My personal best guess is that it wont be happening.

Its already showing up due to cost a lot more than originally forecast and beginning to look "out of date" before construction has even started. It just looks to me like a load of business types want to make like Flash Harry and zip round the country at a little bit faster rate than they otherwise would and its already looking like an outdated idea to expect that (courtesy of Internet, Skype, etc). It just looks like an Ego Thing to me that they are still expecting those particular "perks of the job" and sheer financial reality will soon kill that idea off of them being able to continue with this much longer.

I would personally be willing to lay a bet HS2 wont happen...but I can understand that, if you are already mentally preparing to move on up the ladder to another house on beyond this during the timespan before its announced that the whole scheme has been consigned to the Dustbin of History that its not a risk you would wish to take.

chris_m

Dimey wrote: »

650m certainly sounds as though you'd hear the trains or feel the vibration.

I wouldn't be so sure about that - I'm about that distance from a railway and I can only hear the trains when they cross an iron bridge over the river. Once they've left the bridge I can't hear them at all. If there were a small hill between me and the line I doubt I'd hear them crossing the bridge either.

princeofpounds

Railways are normally far better than roads actually. I lived 30m away from a suburban railway line (different elevation though). You could hear it outside, but with double glazing it was barely perceptible inside, even the faster trains.

Obviously HS 2 is going to be faster and louder. But 650m is quite some distance away.

By contrast I now have a large A road about a kilometre away, over the brow of a hill. I can hear that outside and find it far more annoying than the trains.

I think the dull humming roar of the traffic just carries far more than the railway.

Personally I wouldn't be worried about it. The TGVs in France are quiet enough. Agree with the poster suggesting you pitch up near a main line and take a listen.

moneyistooshorttomention

It also may be the case that, if the worst came to worst, and HS2 did indeed happen that you may not be so bothered about it as you would be by the exact same level of noise from a road (ie because railways are public transport and cars are private transport).

I know that's how I function personally. To me, public transport (basically anyway) is a necessity, but private transport means me sitting there seething about "Am I quite quite sure that every single cardriver heading along that road really NEEDS to make that journey?" and it upsets me one heck of a sight more to have car noise than train noise iyswim. So I will accept train noise a sight more readily than I would accept car or plane noise.

james231287

Hi all,

Many thanks for your replies - I think I'll have to do a little more research into the HS2 and I'll be spending some of my time around 600-700m from the East Coast express line to hear what it's like.

All the best,

James

GwylimT

I live fairly close to the mainline from London to Edinburgh, I can see the trains go past, you can barely hear them and when they do go by it is for a couple of seconds. We don't hear at night when we have the windows open, some walking down the road is noisier.

To be honest we don't really know if HS2 would happen, my only worry would be that it might put off buyers in the future if you need to sell, and if HS2 does happen it might be a disruptive for a while for you, building noise, dust, traffic problems etc.