Last night at a consultation meeting with residents of Baker Street tube station & TfL took place at their offices behind the station, to discuss tube noise issues. The above map was presented of all the rail noise and vibration complaints made to TfL along the tube system. Each yellow stop, indicates a point of noise complaint along the tubes.
From what l have heard and seen, the problem is by far the worst in the Baker Street neighbourhood, though what l heard from residents in Notting Hill Gate last night did make me wonder. Nonetheless, it did not appear that all instances of the problem had been recorded by TfL particularly on their map above.
For example l had previously meet up with residents in Walthamstowe with my ex-colleague Jennette Arnold AM and their long standing complaint was not registered at the end of the Victoria Line in North London. Please check the map.
Whilst the immediate emphasis is on the Victoria & Central line providing a night service on Friday & Saturday night by the end of August, you will need to get registered into TfL list of complaints for them to acknowledge the problem at all.
If you are not on it, get in touch with them immediately.
It is clear that a lot of it won’t be sorted out before the night service has began but those with noise complaints living above or along the tube lines need to make their representations asap.
Hello,
I cannot see the map very clearly but it looks like there have been a lot of complaints from people North of Kings Cross on the Victoria Line.
I have complained a number of times as I have both northbound and southbound Victoria line trains running under my house. I had live in the house for over 30 years without complaint and then last year around September you could suddenly here every single tube from 5:30 am until 1 am the next day- this was every minute – a loud rattling clang.
This was due to TfL increasing the speed and frequency of the Victoria Line trains without replacing or repairing the out of date tracks. Nearly a year later and on the brink of the night tube service and the noise is still bad. It makes me laugh when Kevin Dunning of TfL states they are doing all they can to mitigate the noise problem and when the night tube starts no one will be affected by it! What a joke – just received an email from TfL stating that they will grind the rails ( which helps reduce the noise) maybe sometime in March 2017 – clearly TfL are taking this matter so seriously!!!! Do they not realise how it impacts on people’s lives. Due to only having between 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night my health has deteriorated and I have even had to give up a career I loved because of the impact of sleep deprivation.
Clearly many hundreds if not thousands of households are affected – why has Tfl even been allowed to go ahead with the night tube before tracks have been smoothed and repaired. It is crazy that TfL are not legally responsible to ensure they keep noise nuisance to a minimum. What can people do?
The map can be enlarged if you double hit the point where you want it enlarged. If that doesn’t work, l could send you a map by e-mail.
The unfortunate reality is that TfL don’t have legal responsibility on noise nuisance but the Mayor does have statutory responsibility for ambient noise across the whole of London. We need some legal action to be taken to define this very grey and unsatisfactory area. I think the residents of Baker St may prove to be the first residents to do so. So watch this space but it won’t immediately help you.
McInnesIan@HotMail.Com
The District and Picadilly lines are a few yards from my house I will also suffer noice from peole walking along the road at the front of the house, my daughter stays with me weekends, which if she is unable to sleep she will no longer be able to do. Not only will I suffer from disturbance and sleep deprivation I may also lose access to my daughter at weekends. The very same politicians to are blocking the Heathrow expansion support the all night tube absolute hypocricy especially considering the more considerable economic benifis of Heathrow. Our house values will be adversely reflected, I am unable to move, have not been offered compensation or assistance with providing noise isolation.
Whats your nearest tube station?
Thanks for this helpful blogpost. We are also suffering with tube noise above the Victoria line. Unbelievable that they can do this to us with no come back? Can we demand that the mayor rehouse us until March?
I have repeatedly complained to the TFL about the level of noise and the sleep deprivation following the opening of the Victoria line during weekends. TFL engineers have come to measure the level of noise. The result of the measuring is that the level of noise is above the WHO level recommendations. They said I will have to wait until March 2017 to have maintenance carried out on the truck that might reduce the level of noise. In the main time, I have started having health problems due to the lack of sleep. What shall I do until March 2017?
Hello,
I have been dealing with TfL for over a year to try and remedy the issue of tube noise and vibration. They refuse to acknowledge that the increase in speed and frequency of the Victoria line trains affects the level of noise. I had lived peacefully in my house for 35 years until last September when suddenly the noise from both the northbound and southbound trains increased considerably – it was like a truck going by every minute from 5:30am until 1 am the next day. Grinding helped somewhat – whereby the smooth out the lines but the noise soon returns. They did not under take the planned grinding last year so people affected by the noise and vibration are having to wait over 14 months for any action. TfL just keep on referring to any complaints saying they will grind the Lines in March 2017. This may not happen if there are more urgent things the engineers need to attend to – TfL words!!
It is so frustrating that people cannot take any further action -Tfl are immune from any legal responsibilities with regards to noise disturbances. They have their guidelines and there are the WHO guidelines but do not seem bothered to actually act on these. The rely on the fact that residents will not go public because of the effect on house prices( I attended a meeting recently where one householder could not sell their house due to the local searches showing the tube line underneath their house and noise complaints-they eventually had to reduce their asking price by £500,000)
Please check out the tubeactiongroup and you will see many letters reflecting what you feel and are experiencing.
It must be affecting so many people’s health physical and mental – I wish TfL could experience what it us like to have maybe 3 to 4 hours a night sleep and even less or none on Friday and Saturday nights due to the nighttube.
I can only say that everyone affected needs to keep complaining to TfL ( start a new complaint everytime as they have to respond and investigate) also write to you local MP and ask then to contact TfL on your behalf. It may not speed things along but at least makes TfL aware of how it is impacting people’s lives.
I’ve just had a letter from the TfL informing us that the night tube will commence in a week’s time (this was a couple of weeks ago now) but with no prior consultation of any kind until this letter!? I have just sent a letter of complaint to them and will see what happens. However, after reading the comments here I am not expecting anything. I am at a loss as to how they did not write to us before asking us to voice our opinions??? Our row of houses is very very close to the Piccadilly line in west London.
Sorry to hear that Sandra. Which tube station on the Piccadilly are you near? Murad
We are in shepherds bush and are directly above a central line tube. We have been complaining for over 10 years and have regular reports from TFL Engineers. They have confirmed it’s the worst noise they have heard. We still get fobbed off with little or no response to when work is being done to the tracks. The engineer has even recommended that tunnel is built inside the tunnel to reduce the noise or buy the properties.. They get ignored. Now we have night tubes it’s just unbearable. The highest recording they took was 65db.. the trains now run 34 times per hour during the day..
Very sorry to hear this. Is it recorded on this map of tube noise complaints.
I’m no longer at the London Assembly to raise such issues but have been to see your local MP, Andy Slaughter about raising it with TfL tube service?
Murad
Hello, I live in Somer’s Town one street away from Euston station and haven’t been able to sleep since the Victoria Line and then Northern also went night tube. However it is very loud all day and all night, probably due to the council building I live in being extremely poorly built (I can hear every word my upstairs neighbours say or anything said in the room next to me).
How do I make a complaint? Never received a letter from TFL. Somer’s Town is a fairly deprived area so it’s possible that the residents in my neighbourhood don’t find it as easy to navigate TFL complaints systems as the people who live in posher areas like Baker Street and Marylebone.
Friends on the other side of Somer’s Town who live one street away from St Pancras station also can hear the trains day and night.
Alex,
sorry to hear your suffering from tube noise along with some of your neighbours in Somers Town.
Can l suggest you get in touch with your Assembly Member (AM) at City Hall, Andrew Dismore, as l am no longer at City Hall. His e-mail is andrew.dismore@london.gov.uk
He’ll know the TfL complaint system better than l do now.
The real problem we have is TfL don’t acknowledge these tube noises as a statutory noise nuisance which would give you a basis for not just complaining but also compensation. In the meantime its important that Londoners disturbed by tube noise across London keep together by social media.
I trust you found the blog and its information useful.
Murad