house close to station.

dani17

Hi,
I am looking for a house not far from the southeastern line station . However, i am wondering if being too close may cause issues of noise . what is the distance from which you will consider the house too close to the station and you may have concerns about the noise? thanks

macman

What station? Or do you mean the line? 
Assuming you mean the line, the only way to determine the noise is by visiting the site: you can't tell just by distance, as the line may be in a cutting or an embankment, which affects the noise levels.

kingfisherblue

I've lived close to a railway line, and the noise didn't bother me. I was only a child at the time, though, and it may bother me these days. However, living close to a station might be more of a problem if car users park in the nearby streets. You might find that you have issues with people parking all day during the week. It may not be a concern, but it may be worth considering.

hazyjo

Judging from the thread title, I think they do mean station and not line.

Although the line will obviously be near too, although we don't know if behind or off at an angle!

I live around half a mile from an overhead  station and hear the trains from my garden sometimes. 

You're probably more likely to get annoying noise from people getting on/off than the trains!

Trains may honk their horns (am sure there's a more techie word for the loud noise trains can make!) which at times makes me jump out my skin. 

You'll need to visit at all times of day.

Is there a cab office there? Will they have to go past 'your' house to get to the station?

You will also get loads of other drivers collecting people from trains/dropping them off. If you're that close, be prepared to hear engines running, music sometimes blaring (most you won't want to define as music), horns, and people yelling to each other.

If you're not en route to it and merely in a back road a 5 min walk away, it wouldn't bother me.

The question was a bit vague, so I'm covering all grounds.

dani17

Hi,
it is about 150 meters from station/railways. i am looking for a compromise between not being far and avoid the noise in the sametime. it is bexleyheath station by the way. thanks

hazyjo

Well you'll certainly hear it! Am sure that's a busy station and I'd be very surprised if no cab office. I used to use that line.

Would people have to drive past your house?

Does the railway line back onto the house?

Parking will be a prob although I should imagine it's permits. That won't stop people picking people up from your road if you're near enough.

If there's a school close by I'd be doubly concerned.

kjelyse

I live just across the street from a station on the Sidcup line. We've been here for almost three years and I've gotten used to it, but the flat does seem to rattle sometimes!

scottiescott

I used to live a two minute walk from a station. Maybe only two trains an hour and hardly ever noticed they wee even there. Occasionally heard people walking past pulling noisy suitcases on wheels and you got the odd person leaving their car at my front door either for the day or off on holiday. Other than that, no problem.

AnotherJoe

There's a thread here from someone whose life has been badly affected by the noise froma station they moved close to.
 It depends very much upon the exact layout of the surrounding roads, you might want to literally take a day parked there to get an idea of how busy it is , traffic flows (foot and vehicle) and how they would affect your exact property. 

Davesnave

Why do people post threads about how others feel, when it's how they feel in a specific location which matters?

I live about 2 miles from the station as the crow flies, but I usually hear more crows than trains. I used to live right above the Bristol to London line and didn't give a monkey's, but I was almost 40 years younger then, and  if I was there now, my house would soon be on the market!

RandomDan

dani17 said:

Hi,
it is about 150 meters from station/railways. i am looking for a compromise between not being far and avoid the noise in the sametime. it is bexleyheath station by the way. thanks

Looking at Google maps 150m is about 2 or perhaps 3 streets away from the line.  It really depends on your noise tolerance, but personally that distance would not bother me at all.  I've lived on a busy main road, and had a friend who lived in a flat directly overlooking a rail line into a busy London station, and it's surprising how quickly you get used to the normal routine sounds.  Out of the ordinary sounds, like a train sounding the horn (they wouldn't usually in residential areas unless there are maintenance crews on the line) might get your attention though.

I had a dive down onto Google Streetview on some random roads and it looks like most houses have a drive and I didn't see much in the way of congested parking issues on the roads, but I echo the sentiments of others to visit at a few different times of the day to get a feel / sound of the place.