Noise and Vibration Report - Transnet

ENVIRO-ACOUSTIC RESEARCHSCOPING NOISE REPORT – TRANSNET: SWAZI RAIL LINK – DAVEL YARD TO NERSTON RSA ROUTE7 RESULTS AND PRELIMINARY IMPACT ASSESSMENT7.1 CONSTRUCTION PHASEProjected impacts from the construction phase can only be modelled once moreinformation regarding the duration of construction and equipment used are known.Therefore the construction phase will only be dealt in more detail during theEnvironmental Noise Impact Assessment phase.For the purpose of the Scoping phase the impact that traffic may have on thesurrounding noise environment are excluded, only to be considered during the EIA phase.7.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE: ESTIMATED IMPACT AND IMPORTANT CONCEPTSThe average noise levels will significantly depend on the total number of activities thattakes place during the reference period, the distance of receptors from the railway line,speed of the train line section under investigation as well the existing ambientsoundscape around receptors. The conceptual design highlights a potential 12 trains perdirection per day (8 trains per direction per day considering practical train slots – at65%) for the first phase and doubles that after the implementation of the second phase.A basic estimation if projected noise levels indicated increased noise levels due to the tothe operation of the railway line within an area of up to 420 meters from the railway line.Desktop investigations have indicated over a hundred possible receptors within 500 mproximity to the proposed Swazi Rail Link layout (existing and proposed rail line). Thereis sufficient information to conclude that the operation of the Davel to Nerston railwayline could have a potential noise impact of significance warranting further investigationduring the Environmental Noise Impact Assessment.P a g e | 39