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Are subway trains loud?

But what was measured exceeds that limit: The samples show the average noise levels on all subway platforms and on all subway rides (inside subway trains) is between 72.5 and 76.5 dB and between 74.1 and 75.8 dB, respectively.



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The NYC subway system is 70 to 100-year old railroad technology that's been 'shoved' underground, with tunnel and walls good for reflecting and amplifying noise, especially the high frequency screeching of out of true steel wheels with worn flat spots.

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South Ferry is the loudest station in an already ear-crushing subway system, with trains rumbling out at 111 decibels — as loud as a rock concert — according to a Post survey. Doctors say listening to such volume for one minute could result in permanent hearing damage.

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An estimated 100 people died in the Malbone Street Brooklyn Rapid Transit disaster. Here's how the tragedy changed public transportation in America. At 6:14 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 1, 1918, hundreds of weary New Yorkers boarded a Brooklyn Rapid Transit train at Park Row in Lower Manhattan for the ride home to Brooklyn.

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City Hall's Haunted Ghost Station Once the jewel of the subway system, the beautiful City Hall Station now lies empty and unused at the end of the 6 line. Its' cavernous ceilings, now mostly silent, once echoed more than just the footsteps of passengers.

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Noise pollution and vibrations are some of the biggest concerns, particularly for people who live within one-third of a mile of railroads or railyards, says Natalia Caldeira Loss Vincens, an expert in public health at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

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The intensity of sound will vary at night, sometimes louder and sometimes softer. It has to do with the height and strength of a temperature inversion just above the ground. On clear, calm nights, it is cooler at the ground than higher up.

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The day–evening–night noise level (LDEN) is a European standard to express noise levels over an entire day. Similarly, LNIGHT is the noise indicator for the night. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended reducing noise levels to 53 dB and 45 dB for LDEN and LNIGHT noise exposures, respectively.

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LOCAL TIP: New Yorkers typically call the subway “trains” (not underground or metro) or by their alpha name (the C or the Q).

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