Transport is a necessary feature of modern living. We believe in the sustainable connectivity of people, when done in an environmentally conscious way. We also believe that transport hubs should be environments of simplicity, enabling easy movement, free from confusion.
Noise and vibration from transport activity and infrastructure schemes can have significant impact on nearby communities, both at the construction and operation phase. Retrospective thought to mitigation can often be costly and over designed to compensate. However, adverse effects can be avoided by early engagement with an acoustic specialist, by understanding the operational constraints, planning in mitigation within the construction or operation of the scheme and by appropriately managing community and local authority engagement.
HS2 has changed the way we design our rail infrastructure. The technical standards developed for the scheme form the benchmark for all future rail schemes. Network Rail documents such as NR/L2/TEL/30134 (Design and Installation Requirements for Public Announcement, Voice Alarm and Long Line Public Announcement Systems) and NR/L2/ENV/121 (Managing environmental and social impact of noise and vibration) set standards for the construction and operation of rail schemes, pulling from guidance within BS 5228. For road schemes, the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) LA 111 sets the current standard of noise and vibration assessment in the UK. Noise from aircraft is often controlled in order to satisfy Civil Aviation Authority air space standards and airport operators often have criteria controlling PA/VA intelligibility and environmental noise emissions.
Our team has significant experience in transport and infrastructure schemes, working with HS2 and Network Rail on new rail facilities, with Northamptonshire County Council on road schemes and for the airport operator BAA. Our team’s experience includes working on rail projects such as HS2 Phase 1 Enabling Works North, HS2 Curzon Street Station and HS2 Old Oak Common, on road projects such as the A45 Daventry Bypass and on aviation projects such as the PA/VA assessment of Birmingham Airport and the detailed design of Red Sea Airport.