Buying a house next to railway station

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob

i used to live next to bridgwater train station. My first concern was if the building would take the vibrations, but as my wife pointed out, how many old train stations and train buildings do you see....

The house would shake when the freight trains come through, usually early hours. I woke up a few times when we first moved in as the sensation was weird and what i thought was an earthquake.

After about 3 months, i didnt notice any of the trains or noise, just the huge amounts of litter in my hedge! Also people using the train station as a meeting place and my house was the nearest one, so i imagine, the house by the corner of the train station.....

id never buy a house next to a train line or road. i prefer quiet peace


this was a rented house, but the one we lived in: Gives you an idea of how close in comparison to the one youre looking at

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/35+clarks+road,+bridgwater/@51.1276196,-2.9896385,3a,75y,254.11h,81.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLHogDRshjpNJUaFt7XAtVg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf040816b4c171e5d!6m1!1e1

hazyjo

The line I think you would get used to, but the people picking up others would annoy me more. Most with their radios on, lots of shouting, bibbing, especially if there's a taxi rank too.

There's a sort of turning circle/roundabout in front of the station I use and it's chaos every night.

Jx

Lord_Baltimore

london.cidade wrote: »

Actually I havent felt any vibration when i was there, will check it again.

Ok. Just remember it is the early morning freight train that seems to cause most vibration. They are long and slow and you can feel the vibration in your body as well as in the house. If you're an early riser (if you know what I mean ) you and the missus might find it a bonus...

The_Real_Cheddar_Bob

100% agree, although the intercity trains going through at speed made the building shake.

the freight ones were like an earthquake

KiKi

Is it a large station? I know that people who live in a certain radius around the main station in my town can hear the announcements from 0530 through until midnight - the tannoy system is very loud. That would annoy me more than anything!

I also wouldn't live near a railway line because I have cats - and I wouldn't want to run the risk of them jumping over a back fence and ending up on the line.

But I love trains, and if it was a quieter station, and double glazed, with few freight trains, it probably wouldn't bother me.

TheShape

london.cidade wrote: »

the master bedroom is on the 3rd floor. double glazed buy you still hear the train noise. just thinking to make a strong isolation for the master bedroom.

is it a bad idea to buy next to train station ?

What about in the summer when you want the window open? Road noise would drive me mad in the summer when I lived on a main road/bus route.

System

I used to live directly behind a train station until last year. The train station had 4 tracks so it had trains stop but also ones that sped straight through. I barely noticed it after a couple of days. If anything, I noticed Christmas morning that there was no noise! Freight trains usually cause more noise but again it depends on a persons tolerance. The kids absolutely loved it in the garden where they could see the station and trains go past.

I actually miss the noise and just being near the station. I would buy there again.

duchy

I grew up on a house backing onto the main London Gatwick Brighton line which has a 24 hour service. The trains never woke me, overnight maintainance that happened every two to three years did. Proximity to the station itself I'd check noise from tannoy announcements and if parking is residents only . Things like friends visiting and deliveries can be impacted by parking problems.
That said the location will make it more affordable, for resale if it's on a commuter line I wouldn't worry about it.

As kids we used to wave at the trains and look out for special trains like Pullman trains.

We'd have the windows open , you just tuned the train noise out , visitors would often comment on it though.

Elfbert

I think if the line is straight - no wheel-squeeal as trains grind around corners - it wouldn't bother me too much. It does very much depend on how much heavy freight moved around though.

I live about a mile from a marshalling yard - I don't hear the trains rumbling around, but you can hear the horns going all day and all night! I don't mind it, as it's not so loud it wakes you. I wouldn't want to live right by it though.

Also check if the line has any plans for upgrades etc. The same line I live near has just been having all the Crossrail works done on it. People really didn't appreciate overlooking the lines when they were driving in all the pilings with a huge piledriver overnight every weekend for months on end. The noise and vibrations were immense. Is the line you're going to be near electrified already?

bmthmark

My personal opinion is no I wouldn't buy it. One of my worries would be that if I wanted to sell it potential buyers would be thinking the same as you are. This would put people off.
If you have doubt in your mind, others would also have this doubt when you come to sell.

Personally I would pay more and look further away, even if it means saving for a little longer.