Mid Sussex MP, Nicholas Soames, met with local residents and representatives from Network Rail today to discuss the recurring problem of train horn noise which is causing great inconvenience to residents near the Railway line in parts of Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath.

Nicholas Soames commented after the meeting; “Network Rail has responded to earlier concerns and the position has improved but more needs to be done.

“I am writing to the Chairman of Network Rail to suggest that a common set of rules about train horn noise is enforced across the operating companies and that the work of noise suppression should continue at a greater pace.

“I will be reviewing this problem with other Parliamentary colleagues, the Health and Safety Executive, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), together with the Chairman of Network Rail at our meeting on the 12th July at the House of Commons, when we will be receiving a progress report on the review being carried out by Rail Safety and Standards Board’s Steering Group. I shall be reporting back to my constituents thereafter.

“This is a serious problem for some people; train horn noise can be a blight and I am determined to see the matter resolved.”

During the visit Mr Soames, accompanied by Councillor Mrs Margaret Baker and local resident Jonathan Ash-Edwards, visited the Old Wickham Lane bridge to examine the problem. Network Rail will be carrying out an assessment of the whistleboards in Burgess Hill.

Notes

• RSSB is responsible for specifying the requirements on when and where train horns must be used; Network Rail is responsible for deciding how train operators using the network comply on a day to day basis with the standards set by RSSB

• Under rules set by RSSB, train drivers are required to sound their horns at whistle boards associated with footpath crossings at all times

• As a result of the impact on line-side residents RSSB have reduced the sound by 8 decibels and rule changes introduced in 2005 have reduced the number of occasions when train horns must be used

• RSSB has also set up an industry working group to consider this issue in the round. RSSB together with Network Rail and train operators are considering how disturbance from train horns can be reduced whilst still delivering appropriate levels of warning to pedestrians at footpath crossings and other track users. The working group are considering whether improvements in technology eg the use of broadband train horns can reduce disturbance as well as considering the benefits of localised solutions in areas where significant numbers of line-side residents are affected by train horn noise

• A temporary embargo is in place on all new whistleboards unless an area of high risk