Tube trains shake pictures off wall, residents say

Residents living near a curve in the Northern line tracks have said they were being kept awake by loud rumbling and vibrations severe enough to shake pictures off their walls.

Sam, who lives in South Wimbledon, said trains going around the bend between South Wimbledon and Morden stations caused near-constant noise, while his neighbour Sabine said her family were woken at 05:00 every morning.

Local councillor John Braithwaite said Transport for London (TfL) had been asked to expedite rail grinding work since March, but this had not yet happened.

TfL said it had carried out a significant amount of rail grinding to reduce noise and vibration in the past six months.

Sam said: "You try not to think about it too much, but it's one of those things that on a particular day, if it gets in your head, it's hard to stop thinking about it.

"You get into a habit of when you're putting glasses back in cupboards, making sure they're not touching each other," he added.

"Various radiators in the house have got little bits of rubber or elastic stuck behind them so they don't rattle on the walls. Other neighbours have talked about pictures falling off the wall."

He said the curve in the track appeared to be the cause "because the trains, as they go around the curve at speed, kind of bounce along it."

Sabine said her family was also affected, and it was impossible to ever feel relaxed at home.

"It's a very loud rumble, and because it comes from underneath the ground, it's more intense in a certain way than if a train would drive past you," she said.

"I have a fridge magnet on one of our radiators and sometimes it shakes. It makes you feel less relaxed throughout the day, because every so often you hear the rattling noise."

Braithwaite said the problem was worse in dry weather.

"In the summer particularly, when the ground is very dry, it spreads quite far. People are complaining about the noise and the vibration. Some people even struggle to sleep in the upstairs bedrooms because of the vibration."

Residents met TfL twice in the past four years to discuss the issue.

A TfL spokesperson said they had been working to improve noise and vibration issues and have made a number of improvements, including removing insulated rail joints, which removes a source of noise, and improving the condition of the track.

They added: "We have undertaken a significant amount of noise and vibration-related rail grinding in the last six months and will continue to carry out other targeted interventions to reduce noise, including the removal of redundant rail joints, the maintenance of points and crossings, and re-ballasting track."

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