Strategic Noise Maps for French Railway Infrastructure: Type C Ln

French strategic noise maps for major railway infrastructure, derived from the European Directive 2002/49/EC. The maps show areas where noise levels exceed 68 dB(A) for high-speed lines and 73 dB(A) for conventional railways, using the Lden day-evening-night noise indicator. These maps were approved by prefectural decree on 5 December 2018 and must be reassessed every five years.

Use Cases

• Assess public exposure to railway noise based on the defined Lden noise indicator.
• Monitor compliance with French Environmental Code noise limit values (Article L572-6).
• Plan noise mitigation measures for areas exceeding 68 dB(A) for high-speed lines and 73 dB(A) for conventional railways.
• Inform the public about environmental noise levels through graphic representations as required by the EU directive.

Strengths

• Maps are legally mandated and approved by prefectural decree (5 December 2018).
• Noise thresholds are explicitly defined by the French Environmental Code.
• Data is produced under a European Directive (2002/49/EC), ensuring a standardized methodology.
• The dataset has a defined reassessment schedule of every 5 years.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; the last update was 2024-03-12.

Provenance

Source

BUREAU DE RECHERCHES GÉOLOGIQUES ET MINIÈRES

Collection Method

Derived from the European Directive 2002/49/EC on environmental noise assessment.

Time Range

Approved 5 December 2018; reassessed every 5 years.

Freshness

Last updated 2024-03-12 00:00:00; must be reassessed every 5 years.

Geography

France, specifically major railway infrastructure with annual traffic over 30,000 train crossings.