Noise and Vibration Report - Transnet

ENVIRO-ACOUSTIC RESEARCHSCOPING NOISE REPORT – TRANSNET: SWAZI RAIL LINK – DAVEL YARD TO NERSTON RSA ROUTE5 METHODOLOGY: CALCULATION OF FUTURE NOISEEMISSIONS DUE TO PROPOSED PROJECT5.1 NOISE EMISSIONS INTO THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENTThe noise emissions into the environment from the various sources as defined by theproject developer will be estimated for the construction and operational phase using thesound propagation model described in SANS 10357:2004 for point sources.The following is to be considered:• The octave band sound pressure emission levels of processes and equipment;• The distance of the receiver from the noise sources;• The impact of atmospheric absorption;• The meteorological conditions in terms Pasquill stability;• Topographical layout,• Acoustical characteristics of the ground.The noise emission into the environment due to additional traffic will be estimated usingthe sound propagation model described in SANS 10210:2004. Corrections such as thefollowing will be considered:• Distance of receptor from the road;• Road construction material;• Average speeds of travel;• Types of vehicles used;• Ground acoustical conditions.Unfortunately there is no standard or guideline in South Africa stipulating therequirements to calculate or model the potential noise impacts from a railway operation.For this purpose it was selected to make use of the United Kingdom Department ofTransport document, “Calculation of Railway Noise, 1995”. The methodology proposed inthis document is illustrated in Figure 5.1.P a g e | 28