Railway Sound Classification in Hérault, France, with Noise Categories

A 2021 update of a geospatial dataset mapping the sound classification of railway and tramway infrastructure in the Hérault department of France. The classification, established by prefectoral decrees in 2014 and 2007, categorizes land transport infrastructure into five noise levels and defines affected areas on either side of the tracks. The data is provided by the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) as a Web Map Service (WMS).

Use Cases

• Modeling noise pollution exposure zones based on the defined noise categories and affected areas.
• Assessing compliance with regional noise regulations for transport infrastructure in Hérault.
• Planning urban development near railways using the sound classification as a zoning constraint.
• Analyzing the spatial distribution of high-noise railway segments across the department.

Strengths

• Based on official prefectoral decrees from 2014 and 2007, providing a legal and administrative foundation.
• Covers specific infrastructure types including motorways, railways, and tram lines in defined urban areas.
• Includes a defined five-category noise classification system for consistent labeling.

Limitations

• Last updated 2021-09-09 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description indicates a revision of the 2007 railway classification is postponed, suggesting parts may be outdated.

Provenance

Source

BUREAU DE RECHERCHES GÉOLOGIQUES ET MINIÈRES (BRGM)

Collection Method

Administrative classification via prefectoral decrees, likely digitized into a geospatial service.

Time Range

Decrees from 2007 and 2014; dataset updated 2021.

Freshness

Last updated 2021-09-09 00:00:00

Geography

Hérault department, France, with focus on municipalities over 10,000 inhabitants and specific districts.