Noise-reducing devices for railway applications

Our Institute is the 1st Italian ACCREDIA-accredited Body for the tests described by standards UNI EN 16272 regarding acoustic characterisation in the laboratory of the sound insulation and absorption of noise-reducing devices for railway applications.
 
In March 2013, the Istituto Giordano Acoustics and Vibrations Laboratory obtained accreditation from ACCREDIA, the National Accreditation Body, officially certifying the laboratory’s technical competence to perform the tests specified by the UNI EN 16272 series of standards in conformity to the requirements of international standard UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”.

Please see Guided Transport Systems for details of our activities in the transport sector.

 
A few years ago the European Parliament adopted two important Directives (2008/57/EC and 2009/131/EC) on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community.
 
This term refers to the ability of rail systems to allow the safe and uninterrupted movement of trains and to guarantee the required levels of performance for these lines. This ability is based on a complex set of regulatory, technical and operational requirements that must be satisfied in order to comply with essential requisites.

Within the general framework of rail interoperability, numerous European harmonised standards for conformity assessment of railway devices are being published. In particular, the noise protection sector attaches and will continue to attach great importance to passive noise reduction systems, commonly known as “noise barriers”.

In 2012, a set of three European harmonised standards were published covering their acoustical performance with particular reference to sound insulation and absorption in the laboratory: