Living next to a noise barrier (railway)

Anyone of you have experience regarding this?

I lived for several years in a house that was 5m away from the DB tracks. However, this was also the Rhine line overloaded with freight trains. There was no noise protection wall. After a short time, you no longer noticed the trains.

BUT: Iron particles settle everywhere, which of course start to rust. Despite constant cleaning, especially the roof windows became cloudy within a few years. The facade, window frames, etc. had a slightly reddish tint. But it is worst on the cars. It is a huge effort to remove the rust particles from the paint, rubber seals, and windows, as they literally eat their way in.

We were told that this 1st row would be quieter than the following rows. Somehow I can't quite believe that. Besides, I think you will feel vibrations.

What do you expect, all kinds of things are promised, told, and argued... they are all salespeople trying to sell something. They would probably even promote a snow-free plot at the North Pole.

We have lived by the tracks for 14 years. You get used to it, and we don't have a noise barrier. But we would never build like that.

I can only recommend that you go there at different times, sit on the property, and enjoy the "silence." Get the timetables, what, when, how, how often trains run on those tracks.

Also keep an eye on the traffic routes / roads. We currently find the level crossings much worse than the noise. We have 3 in the village. If an S-Bahn runs there every 10 minutes in 2 directions, the barriers are down more than they are open. I don't want to calculate the months we have stupidly waited at level crossings.

If only a tram really runs there, then with very high probability nothing else will ever run there either. Certainly no freight train, that has to do with the tracks. However, if it is a commuter train [S-Bahn], then it is something else... The airborne noise is very well dampened by the noise barrier. The structure-borne noise and possibly vibrations are not dampened at all. It actually helps to take a look/listen beforehand.

We are building directly next to the tracks. In the building permit there are various requirements ([sound insulation measures and ventilation]) that lead to additional costs for:

- wall construction
- windows and shutters
- sloping ceilings
- ventilation system

That quickly amounts to 30,000+ EUR. Depending on the location in BaWü, however, that is not much compared to the land prices.

Vibrations can be felt very slightly when standing on the boundary and concentrating on it, but not inside the house (shell construction). The trains are practically no longer audible inside the house and do not bother me in the garden; I like trains.

We have also spent time on the property at different times of the day and observed. And also talked to the neighbors. Everyone says: we do not notice it, even when the window is wide open in summer (at night). I cannot quite believe that, because the houses are older and do not by far meet all the new requirements, but it is interesting nonetheless.

On the other hand, we have a central, station-near location without car traffic and idyllic peace, which is briefly interrupted every 10 minutes for 5 seconds. We chose this consciously. In contrast, we find trucks or tractors or even moderate but regular car traffic disturbing—and fortunately, we have none of that.

Every ten minutes? I do wish you that, but sometimes I also think people are just sugarcoating it....

I would go crazy...

Yes, every 10 minutes. Or more precisely, 6 trains per hour. 2 RE per hour and direction and one RB. I know the timetable by heart.