Railway Noise Contours for EU Agglomerations, Night-Time Levels

Strategic noise mapping data for all railway sources within European agglomerations of at least 100,000 people. The dataset provides the annual average night-time noise level (Lnight) in decibels, measured between 2300 and 0700. It was produced by the Government Digital Service to meet the requirements of the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC).

Use Cases

• Modeling population exposure to night-time railway noise based on the Lnight metric.
• Assessing compliance with the EU Environmental Noise Directive for rail infrastructure within agglomerations.
• Supporting urban planning and noise mitigation strategies for areas with high population density.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of noise pollution from railways in major European population centers.

Strengths

• Data is produced for a defined regulatory purpose under Directive 2002/49/EC.
• Noise levels are calculated for a specific and standardized time period (night: 2300-0700).
• Coverage is focused on areas with significant population impact (agglomerations of 100,000+ people).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Strategic noise mapping analysis undertaken for regulatory compliance.

Time Range

Annual average (specific years unknown)

Freshness

unknown

Geography

European Union agglomerations with a population of at least 100,000 people