Licence Historical Background

This is a long(ish) post which tries to summarise the development of the Licence for the Operations of Sydney Trains since it was established in 1997.  It is a continuing licence which was issued to RailCorp and inherited by Sydney Trains as the operator of the Sydney system.

The key provisions of the Licence are Conditions A5 and L6.

Condition A5

A5.1 The principal objectives of this licence are to:

(a) minimise offensive noise levels, to the extent practicable, of railway operations and their impact on communities surrounding the rail network,

(b) facilitate the implementation of a noise reduction program in priority lines of NSW.

Condition L6 Noise Limits

It is an objective of this licence to progressively reduce noise levels to appropriate goals along the priority lines agreed with the licensee through the implementation of the Pollution Reduction Program.

The licence also included a special condition which provided in detail for the development of Polution Reduction Programs between the years 2000 to 2002 to manage and mitigate rail noise on 5 priority lines on the network, one of them being the North Shore Line. The condition required an implementation plan of ‘feasible and reasonable mitigation measures’ where rail noise goals of 60 dB(A)Leq, (24hr) and 85 dB(A) max pass-by noise, (24hr) were exceeded. The extent to which these plans were prepared, and mitigation measures implemented is not known, but it would appear that nothing of substance was done in relation to the problems of wheel squeal and excessive noise caused by severe curves on the North Shore Line.

Subsequent changes

There have been a few changes to the objectives and noise limits provisions over the years, the most significant of which, in relation to rail noise, are:

• An increase in the ‘recommended’ daytime noise limit from 60 dB(A)Leq to 65 dB(A)Leq which occurred in 2013. This happened at a time when the rest of the world was reducing noise limits.
• A much wider range of objectives in the ‘objectives’ provision of the licence
• Removal of a reference to ‘impact on communities surrounding the rail network’ and inclusion of vague terms such as ‘protecting the environment and the community of NSW’ and ‘having regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development’.
• In the latest version of the licence, removal of a ‘principal objective’ provision altogether.

Noise Limits

For almost 20 years there have not been enforceable noise limits in the licence. The noise limits provision began, and remains, as only a ‘note’. The original principal objective of the licence, being to minimise noise, has been omitted altogether. Furthermore, the recommended noise limits have been increased to well beyond international standards.  And then in 2020, without consultation and only 24 hours notice, EPA removed the noise limits all together.

The omission of a key objective provision in the licence relating to noise suggests that the real objects of the POEO Act with regard to maintaining the environment and protecting the community have been forgotten.