The Yunlin County government has issued an administrative warning to the Taiwan Railway Administration, citing noise pollution caused by TRA’s trains.

Chen Shih-ching, director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Yunlin County, said afterwards: “Earlier on, the results of three sound tests conducted during September and October of last year were forwarded to the TRA. Since no response whatsoever from the TRA has been received, we have decided to issue this warning.”

The test results indicated that the largest average noise volume was 94.7 decibels, measured at households adjacent to train tracks, with the single largest record exceeding 100 decibels.

According to new regulations issued Jan. 21 by the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Agency, the maximum average noise level allowed is between 70 and 75 decibels, while the maximum limit allowed is 85 decibels.

In accordance with these new regulations, known as the “land transport system noise control standards,” the TRA must outline an improvement plan within 180 days, or face an administrative penalty fee of between NT$100,000 (US$3,140) and NT$500,000.

This marks the first time since the new regulations took effect that a local agency has delivered an administrative warning.

“We are glad this issue has finally been dealt with by our local agency,” a local resident said. “We can’t hear phone calls or sleep when trains pass by. We have been waken up by the noises and felt frightened.”

Before the new standards were released, no penalties could be levied against public transportation companies like TRA or Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. Environment protection agencies could only ask their superior county or city governments to demand improvement from transportation organizations in charge.

With the new regulation, the responsible transportation companies face penalties if they do not improve within the required dates, or propose compensation to affected residents if problems cannot be solved.

The TRA confirmed receipt of the demand from the Yunlin County EPB, but said the noise measurement results were invalid as no TRA officers were present during the tests. It also said the tests should have not been carried out right next to the tracks.

“We would like the Yunlin agency to give us more details on the measurements before we carry out any improvements,” a TRA officer said.

In response, Yunlin County said in the past noise tests have been carried out independently by its EPB. The county inadvertently forgot to give notice to the TRA to be present during the tests, but nevertheless it is crucial that TRA show good will in trying to resolve the problem.

The road section in question is Section 2 of Yunlin Road, a mixed housing and commercial district belonging to the third and fourth noise control zones. (TYH-HZW)

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