Effects of Railway Elevation, Operation of a New Station, and Earthquakes on Railway Noise Annoyance in Kumamoto, Japan

Yasuhiro Murakami, Takashi Yano, Makoto Morinaga and Shigenori Yokoshima
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Yasuhiro Murakami: Department of Architecture, Sojo University, Ikeda 4-22-1, Nishi-ku, Kumamoto 860-0082, Japan
Takashi Yano: Kumamoto University, Kurokami 2-39-1, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
Makoto Morinaga: Defense Facilities Environment Improvement Association, Shiba 3-41-8, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0014, Japan
Shigenori Yokoshima: Kanagawa Environmental Research Center, Shinomiya 1-3-39, Hiratsuka 254-0014, Japan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of railway elevation, operation of a new station, and earthquakes on railway noise annoyance in two areas along a conventional railway line (CRL) adjacent to the Kyushu Shinkansen line: the north area with the CRL elevation and the south area with the operation of the new station, both of which occurred in March 2016. In April 2016, Kumamoto region was struck by a series of large earthquakes, prompting their inclusion in this study, as frequent aftershocks with loud ground rumbling might make people more sensitive to railway noise and vibration. Socioacoustic surveys were performed in both areas before and after the earthquakes. Because very few respondents in the north area reported that they were “highly annoyed,” further analysis was conducted on data from the south area. The exposure–annoyance relationship was found to be significantly higher in 2017 than in 2011 despite lower noise exposure. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that L den , noise sensitivity, and serious damage by the earthquakes in addition to the operation of the new station significantly affected the annoyance in both detached and apartment houses. However, when the earthquakes caused minimal damage, they did not significantly affect annoyance.

Keywords: annoyance; railway noise; railway elevation; new station; Kumamoto earthquake; logistic regression analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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