DB Cargo investing EUR 230 million into “silent brakes”
“Step by step we are coming closer to our ultimate goal of halving the noise caused by freight trains by 2020. At the end of 2016, more than 32,000 freight railcars of Deutsche Bahn will be driving with considerably less noise emission,” says Ronald Pofalla, Member of the DB Management Board for Economic, Legal and Regulatory Affairs.
This was only possible by equipping the wagons with a composite brake block, which reduces the rolling noise of the railway and ensures a noise level that is 10 decibels lower. This means the felt noise is halved for people along busy routes.
In the coming years, the remaining railcars of DB will also be equopped in the workshops. By the end of 2020, all 64,000 freight cars shall be driving with less noise. DB Cargo, the rail freight branch of Deutsche Bahn, will bear the required additional costs of EUR 230 million.
To ensure the effect of the silent brakes across the nation, all railfreight cars running in Germany as well as new vehicles must be fitted. This means around 180,000 freight cars must be equipped with modern braking technology.
In addition to the railcars of DB Cargo, therefore also the railcars of other German and European owners must be fitted with silent brake blocks. The legislation provides for a ban on noisy freight wagons from the timetable change of 2020/21.