Noise pollution in rail transport. Case study: Baghdad subway

Abstract Noise pollution is one of the environmental factors that severely threaten humans’ mental, emotional, and physical health. One of the most significant sources of this pollution is the noise generated by traffic and urban transportation, mainly the urban railway. This paper assessed noise pollution at stations, passenger cars, and the train operator’s cabin. Four consecutive Baghdad subway stations were used to collect information. There were three modes of measurement: entering the station, stopping at the station, and leaving the station. Leq (equivalent continuous noise level) at station 3 is more significant than at three other stations, confirming that the initial hypothesis regarding the noise pollution rate was correct. Among the studied stations, Station 1 was the quietest. The stations with the highest and lowest Leq values are 3 and 2, respectively. The Leq values recorded in the cabin are within the permissible range. The highest Leq value measured at station 3 is 81.87 dB(A), and the lowest Leq value measured at station 2 is 61.24 dB(A). The operator’s cabin at station 3 has the highest measured Leq of 70.26 dB(A), and station 1 has the lowest measured Leq of 61.5 dB(A). While the measured value in the operator’s cabin was within the acceptable range, the noise levels in the wagons were above standard.