Comment by socalgal2
1 day ago
As a rider I prefer overground. but as a resident I hate them. I see people living next to the tracks, it’s horrible. I’ve been next to the tracks in hotels, it’s horrible.
Tokyo has been working to move several lines underground. not quite the same because they weren’t elevated. but, once the buried the trains they turned the old track areas into parks, walking paths, biking paths, indie stores, etc. it’s great!
Sound proofing can really help. I used to live in an apartment that was directly under the takeoff path of a major airport. Standing outside you'd feel the airplane passing overhead but inside it was a whisper softer than the HVAC.
The challenge, I suspect, is who pays for the sound proofing. I believe the city paid to retrofit my old apartment. I'd support similar effort around tracks.
There is a huge difference between light rail and heavy rail in terms of surface noise I find. Light rail on modern track is pretty quiet.
When light rail can go through every 2 minutes during peak hours, the difference is largely academic.
Light rail 70-80 dB Regular trains 85-100dB
It’s a logarithmic scale, which would you rather live by?
overground is heavy rail
and the lines are heavily used by freight