Showing papers by "Cristina Pronello published in 2003"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the interactions between vehicles, infrastructure and environment for rail traffic and identified variables having a significant influence on sound levels, defined a standard procedure for measuring noise, and developed a database for setting up and calibrating train noise models.
Abstract: This paper analyses the interactions between vehicles, infrastructure and environment for rail traffic. It identifies variables having a significant influence on sound levels, defines a standard procedure for measuring noise, and develops a database for setting up and calibrating train noise models. A pilot study looks at two railway lines passing through Vercelli, a medium sized town in the north-west of Italy. Four main conclusions were drawn. First, in certain conditions, variables that normally influence noise production can be neglected (e.g. when surrounding environmental conditions are constant, different types of train do not cause a significant variation in noise level). Secondly, when diesel trains are travelling at less than 70 km/h, a speed change of 30–40 km/h significantly affects the maximum noise level (Lmax). However, for electrified lines, when speed is below 80 km/h, a change of 20–30 km/h does not cause significant variations in Lmax. Thirdly, for diesel trains transiting at low speeds––e.g. near stations––noise emissions are strongly affected by acceleration/deceleration. Lastly, an approach based on ‘sites types’ is able to produce useful results because site configuration and the presence of building significantly affect Lmax. High buildings along the line can increase noise levels and may nullify the advantages derived from technological advance in the vehicles.
29 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a medium-sized town in Italy was selected as the basis for design of a survey that focused on evaluation of the social costs of urban transport due to the resident population.
Abstract: The aim of this research was to verify the reliability of the data and tools available for calculating the social costs of transport, experimenting with different methods, but using the same approach. A medium-sized town in Italy was selected as the basis for design of a survey that focused on evaluation of the social costs of urban transport due to the resident population.
1 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on the valuation of railway noise externality, studied by the way of a pilot survey along a railway line's section passing through the city of Turin, where a sample of people has been inteviewed using a questionnaire focused to know the perceived disturbance and the willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid it.
Abstract: This research is focused on the valuation of railway noise externality, studied by the way of a pilot survey along a railway line's section passing through the city of Turin. There, a sample of people has been inteviewed using a questionnaire focused to know the perceived disturbance and the willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid it, and, parallely, noise measurements have been carried out on the facades of the buildings where the interviewed people live. The results show that the noise level and the distance from the railway influence the disturbance, while the WTP is affected by the age, the income, and the education, but not by the noise level. Anyway, only the 28% of thesample is willing to pay and the average WTP per year and per household is very low, about 23 €. These results induce to extend the survey to a larger sample, also in other locations, and to try to use alternative methods to evaluate the social costs because the CV shows some reliability problems
1 citations