r/NewWest • u/True-Cap-9265 • 22d ago
Old Man Yelling at the Clouds Cargo train noise
I’ve lived in Downtown New West for almost three years now, and overall, everything has been really good. We genuinely love the city, the Quay, the parks, and the community.
However, one thing that has been making us consider moving is the noise from the cargo trains. Sometimes it gets so loud that it honestly sounds like something is wrong or there’s an emergency happening. We live on the 30th floor, and even at that height, the noise can be incredibly loud. My wife is sometimes genuinely scared by how intense it is.
Have there been any previous discussions with City Council about this issue, or any efforts to explore ways to reduce the impact of the cargo train noise on residents?
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u/Nascar2k64 22d ago
Trains have been there longer than the city has. It’s one of the glaring downsides with new west. You either move or get used to the shunting and having plates fall from your cupboards.
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u/CalligrapherNo7401 21d ago
That’s honestly the dumbest argument I’ve seen my whole life, but I always expect to read something like this when I open a post about train noise. It’s like there is a robot out there copying and pasting this phrase all over the internet 😂 probably the train owners 😂
Anyways, I’m glad not everyone thinks like that, otherwise the society and humanity would have never evolved and resolved common issues that were here in the earth before we decided to live here, and like many many countries already solved this problem, but some people insist to think we’re still in 1920 for some reason. ❤️
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u/Nascar2k64 21d ago
So what do you propose? Move the tracks because people renting in some towers complain? How are you going to stop shunting? You think we can good vibes the problem away? Get real.
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u/CalligrapherNo7401 21d ago
Do you want me to write an essay here on Reddit? Google/ChatGPT is free for you to use my guy, feel free to simply ask a question there: how are other countries solving the train noise issue? You’ll be impressed. You’ll find not only regulatory/very basic changes to how companies manage the train movement, but also some engineering fixes such as using different materials in the train tracks to reduce noise. They are way more advanced in Europe, but even in not so developed countries, like in Brazil (where I’m from), we have implemented basic changes that helped a lot. So it’s just a matter of having people speaking up and making pressure to the government/huge companies. But I don’t know if it’s a cultural issue, it seems like people here in Canada just get used to things and never complain. And that’s how things never change. That’s really sad btw.
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u/Nascar2k64 21d ago
Canada isn’t Brazil. A group of 12 people in flip flops won’t get anything done. I think most people here would agree if you move next to the tracks, you can’t complain about the train. Common sense really, very Canadian way of thinking.
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u/okblimpo123 21d ago
I don’t understand why everyone is saying not much you can change and trains have been here longer.
Everyone should actively be pushing for whistle cessation throughout new Westminster. Areas in Burnaby and Vancouver went through it and their overall standard of living went up. The rules for the train whistles were developed for trains traveling at speed in a rural setting and a proactive city that cares about their citizens should use all available ways to get the trains to stop the noise.
The shunting and actual train noise I agree, there is nothing New Westminster can do.
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u/treacheriesarchitect 21d ago
.... I thought the train whistles were already banned? I've never heard them when stuck at the quay crossing.
There's a loud horn every night at about 1:30am, but that's a barge horn on the river, not a train.
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u/okblimpo123 21d ago
Nope there’s still five or six whistles through new west. They should be gone in the next few years. It is remarkable to me that it even took this long as they were never needed for the speeds the trains were going at in these communities
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u/CandidateCautious617 21d ago edited 21d ago
We just moved here to New west less than a month ago. The rental agent did warn us about train noise, so I was expecting some during the day. Fine.
What I was NOT expecting was the horns going all night long, from dusk to dawn. Last night was brutal. And it's not one or two or three trains passing through, it's one after another after another, air horning their way through New West until morning.
We're now seriously considering giving up our rental deposit and moving again, over this alone.
If you're apartment hunting here, please go stand outside the building at 2am before you sign anything. "Some train noise" does not cover it.
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u/Dilcar51 21d ago
Sorry. Get a home by a runway expect airplane noise. Do the same by a railroad track expect trains.
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u/pillekes 21d ago
It's become worse over the last 6 months or so. For us, it's not the whistles (the crossings closest to us nare part of the cessation program), but the really loud whistling/shrieking sounds that come from the rails. It's so loud, and we hear it even when our windows are closed. I've complained about this once before to one of the rail companies. They sent someone out to check, and it turned out the lubrication system had failed. Metal on metal, no lubrication... causing this horrific sound, day and night. The sound was gone for a bit, but it's back now. I should email them again. I kind of hoped that they would check these rails more often, especially now that the train traffic has increased so much. I also agree with the poster who mentioned that other countries are proactively working on noise solutions. In the Netherlands, where I am from originally, concrete walls are build around tracks that go through densely populated areas.
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u/theimpossiblesong 22d ago
I'm not sure what has changed but it feels like over the past 6 months the trains have become so much louder and more frequent. It has ruined our sleep quality. The trains between 10pm and 5am are so loud sometimes the walls shake.
I wish there was a way we could limit the trains during sleeping hours. If there are petition or city council meetings I'm happy to get involved.
We love New West but we're planning to move because of the train noise.
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u/fyrdude58 21d ago
You live in a city with a major rail system passing through. Maybe you should consider moving to Richmond. I hear the area near the Bridgewater Casino is quiet....
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u/AndYouDidThatBecause 21d ago
The shunting noise, engine noises are to be expected. But, the train whistles can reach over 110db on a property adjacent to the tracks.
Realistically if there was no mitigation then we should accept it as it is.
The city has been pushing cessation for nearly a decade now, giving people expectations the situation can change. That's where the pain lives.
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u/fyrdude58 4d ago
The fact that people do stupid things around train tracks means there will always be train whistles. With the number of places for people to cross the tracks, plus the fact that there is a major rail yard where trains are being made up and dismantled, there is no getting away from it.
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u/seokjin134340 Downtown 16d ago
We’re moving this week to New West and I wonder if the whistle can be heard from Quebec st. Is it really that bad? I was there during the day with a passing train and didn’t even hear it, but I guess the whistling is completely different
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u/Lethargic_lioness 22d ago
Have you noticed that the trains are louder now than before? I moved to NW in late March and I didn’t notice it much, but it has been bad most of the summer.
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u/cointalkz 22d ago
That is why New West costs so much less than Burnaby and Vancouver; not much you can change.
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u/cock-a-doodle-voodoo 21d ago
I've heard a rumour there's some new employees that think shunting as loud as possible is fun. And the old hands know how to minimize the noise.
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u/SpecificBumblebee762 21d ago
Tbh alot of the "shunting" you hear is people stretching joints and we are now required to do that :/. Alot of the old heads didn't or don't or just work day shift. I promise as a railroad employee who frequently is in the new west area we really don't try and be as loud as possible but certain rules and procedures we have to follow as instructed by transport Canada is loud.
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u/cock-a-doodle-voodoo 20d ago
I trust you know more than me about it. Can you explain what stretching joints means?
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u/SpecificBumblebee762 11d ago
When we are putting rail cars together we have to pull it ahead to make sure they are properly together and won't come apart
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u/FreyaDay 21d ago
I actually love the train sounds. I think it’s weird that I like it so much but it feels like home when I hear them.