London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Slower Tube trains to ‘iron out’ tracks causing noise complaints

Slower Tube trains to ‘iron out’ tracks causing noise complaints

TfL’s aim is to keep average noise levels below 80 decibels

Tube trains could travel at slower speeds to “iron out” bumps in the track that cause excessive noise on the London Underground.

Transport for London is to trial a “self-correcting” system after spending up to £50 million on partly failed efforts to reduce the “screeching” and rumbling suffered by passengers and residents.

Five sections of the Northern line will be targeted from early next year — meaning slower off-peak journeys between Friday and Sunday.

TfL has identified 37 “hotspots” where noise levels have sparked complaints, with the worst areas including the Victoria line near Walthamstow, the Northern Line near Oval and the District line near Hammersmith.

Several initiatives have been tried, including spending £7-£10 million a year over the past five years grinding rails that have become “corrugated” as a result of train braking and acceleration. Engineers believe that the damaged rails can be smoothed by reducing speeds by between five to eight mph.

Map shows areas of noise complaints across London, by Tube line. Bigger dots indicate larger numbers of complaints.


Five sites on the Northern line are to be tested. This should have “little impact” on overall journey times, TfL believes. Duncan Weir, head of track for LU, said: “What we are trying to do is use the speed of the rolling stock. If we get it correct, it will start to self-regulate the corrugation. If we get it wrong, it will start to create significant sharp peaks.”

TfL first stepped up efforts to reduce Tube noise ahead of the launch of the Night Tube in 2016. One of the “solutions” — a system of lifting the rails off the track bed using “Pandrol Vanguard” clips — was found to reduce Tube noise in homes by 10 to 12 decibels, but had the “unintended consequence” of increasing the screeching.

Pandrol Vanguard also caused the rails to become corrugated up to eight times more quickly — meaning more rail grinding was needed and the rails wore out more quickly.

TfL’s aim is to keep average noise levels below 80 decibels and has been trialling a product called Delkor, a rubber compound that absorbs some of the track vibrations, but it would cost £59 million to treat all 37 hotspots.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×