§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 13 March 2003,Official Report, column 376W, on the Noise Mapping Project, whether short-term noise events will be considered in later stages of the project; and if she will make a statement on best practice for resolving disputes caused by the sounding of train horns. [106501]
§ Alun MichaelOnce the initial stage of the project has been completed, my officials will assess whether a more detailed account of short-term noise events such as the regular sounding of horns by trains should be taken.
At present there is no best practice for resolving disputes caused by the sounding of train horns. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have put the issue of the sounding of train horns on the agenda of the forthcoming trilateral meeting with Railway Safety, the industry body that is responsible for Railway Group Standards and Network Rail, the infrastructure controller.
However train horns are susceptible to statutory nuisance. Although the Railways Act 1993 Section 122 subsection 3, Part A exempts authorised railway undertakers from action at civil or criminal law for nuisance, it does not exempt them from the element of statutory nuisance that covers being prejudicial to health. For such a case to succeed, it would be necessary to prove, to the satisfaction of the court, that the nuisance was above and beyond what might be expected from the normal operation of a railway.