PROC
CEEDINGS of the
23rd Internationa
al Congresss on Acousttics
13 Septemb
ber 2019 in Aachen,A
Gerrmany
9 to 1

Effects of The Number of Noise Events from SHINKANSEN Railway
on annoyannceKeiji YAAGAWA1; Ayumi
Ay
SHIOTTANI1; Toshiihiko MATSU
UI1; Takashii YANO2
1
2

Chuo Fukkenn Consultants Co.,C Ltd., Japaan

Grraduate schooll of Science annd Technology, Kumamoto University, Ja
Japan

ABSTRA
ACTThis papper describes the relationsship between the number of Shinkanseen noise evennts and anno
oyance. In
Japan, thhe maximum
m noise levell (LA,Smax) haas been ado
opted as the index for E
Environmentaal Quality
Standardds for Shinkannsen Superex
xpress Railwaay Noise sincce 1975. As the number oof trains has increased
with the developmennt of the Shinnkansen railw
way network, it has beenn debated whhether LA,Smaxx or someenergy aaveraged indeex such as LAeq,24h
or Lden is more apprropriate. The Ministry of Environment initiatedA
nation-w
wide social surrveys on Shinnkansen noisee in the areass along Shinkansen railwayys, that have 40 to 340
train pass-byes per daay. We hypoothesized thatt annoyance withw Shinkan
nsen railway noise increasses as the
maximum noiise levels aree equal. It w
was confirmed that an
number of noise eveents increases, even if myance with Shinkansen railway noise up to
increasedd number of noise events increasedd the annoy
approxim
mately 200 peer day, but thee effect saturaated after 300
0 per day. Wee conclude thhat the maxim
mum noiselevel (LAA,Smax) and thee number of Shinkansen nnoise events affectaannoyaance, but the number of Sh
hinkansen
noise eveents does nott always causse in the listeening and sleeping disturb
bances as mucch as annoyan
nce, when
we estim
mate the enviroonmental quaality for Shinkkansen railwaay noise.
oise
Keywordds: Annoyancce, Number of noise eventts, Railway no

1. INT
TRODUCTION
In Jaapan, when the index forf Environm
mental Quallity Standard
ds for Shinkkansen Supeerexpress
Railwayy Noise was established,, the techniccal committeee pointed out
o that as w
well as the maximummnoise leevel, the num
mber of noise events aand durationn of noise shouldsalso be consideered. The
technicaal committeee concluded that it wass only necesssary to evaaluate Shinkkansen railw
way noisebased onn the maxim
mum noise leevel for 100 to 250 Shinnkansen trainn pass-byes per day, connsidering
the techhnical difficuulty in meaasuring and calculating energy aveeraged noisee levels at thettime.
Howeve r, the currennt number off Shinkansenn train pass-b
byes per day is 30 to 3400.
umber of Sh
hinkansen nooise events anda noiseThis paper describes the relaationship bettween the nu
ximum nois e level (LA,Smax) has beenbadopteed as the inndex forannoyannce. In Japaan, the max
AEnvironm
mental Quallity Standard
ds for Shinkkansen Supeerexpress Raailway Noisee since 1975
5. As thenumber of trains hass increased withw the deveelopment off the Shinkan
nsen railwayy network, it has beenx, such as LAeq,24h or Ldenn, is more appropriate
debated whether LA,Smax or somee energy aveeraged index
he number oof noise eveents on anno
oyance have been investtigated infor the index. The effects of th
oncluded thaat at >20 airrcraft overflights perlaborato ry experimeents and sociials surveys. Rice [1] coa Number Index (NNI)) concept, whereaswathour, thee results agrree reasonablly well with the Noise andlower raates (4-8 ovverflights per hour) the peak level concept cann be appliedd. Rylander et al. [2]identifieed that after approximattely 70 overrflights per 24
2 h, further increases do not causse further
increase s in annoyannce.
vestigate thee effects of the numberr of Shinkannsen noise eventseon
In thhis study, wee aim to inv
dthe exp
posure-respoonse curves for Shinkansen noise ussing the nattion-wide
annoyannce and to draw
social suurvey data onn Shinkansen noise in Jaapan. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between
the numbber of Shinkkansen noise events and aannoyance usingumultiplle logistic reegression moodels.
1
2

yagawaa_k@cfk.co.jpp
yano@@gpo.kumamotto-u.ac.jp1515

2. METHODS
2.1 Social Surveys
The Ministry of Environment initiated nation-wide social surveys on Shinkansen railway noise in2014 and 2017 in areas along the Shinkansen railway that have 40 to 340 trains pass-byes per day.
Social surveys were conducted in 34 areas, as shown in Table 1 and Figure 1. There were 7, 8, 5, 10,
3, and 1 areas along the Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu, Tohoku, Jyoetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines,
respectively. Although the Tokaido and Sanyo lines were operated before Environmental Quality
Standards for Shinkansen Superexpress Railway Noise was established, the other lines were operated
after the establishment. The number of Shinkansen train pass-byes in the survey areas is 40-340/day,as shown in Figure 2. When the number of pass-byes per day is divided into four categories(40-90/day, 90-190/day, 190-290/day, and 290-340/day), there are 10, 9, 5, and 10 areas in eachcategory, respectively.
A face-to-face interview method was used. Forty questions were asked on house, residential
environment, annoyance caused by environmental factors, activity interferences by Shinkansen
railway noise, and sleep quality. Houses were selected in the area within approximately 150 m of a 1
km long strip of railway. The number of respondents (response rate, %) in the 2014 and 2017 surveys
was 1,180 (31.0) and 293 (35.8), respectively.
Annoyance was evaluated verbally on a 5-point Likert scale (not at all, slightly, moderately, very,
and extremely). Activity interferences (telephone/TV/radio listening, indoor conversation, sleeping,reading, and indoor resting) were evaluated with “yes” or “no,” and if the answer was “yes,” sleep
disturbance was further evaluated on a 4-point frequency scale (not at all, occasionally, once or twicea week, and more than three times a week). % Very Annoyed (%VA) was defined as the rate of
respondents who selected “extremely” or “very” at the sites. % Disturbed (%D) for daytime activities
was defined as the rate of respondents who selected “yes” at the sites. %Very Sleep Disturbed (%VSD)
for sleep disturbances was defined as the rate of respondents who selected “yes” and “more than threetimes a week” at the sites.
Table 1 – Social survey areas
Survey year
2014

2017

Shinkansen line

Area No.

Number of respondents

Response rate (%)

Tokaido1, 2, 3, 18, 19

211

27.4

Sanyo

4, 5, 6, 7, 21, 22

252

28.9

Kyusyu8, 9, 23, 24

169

29.3

Tohoku10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, 26

347

34.7

Jyoetysu

15, 16, 27

158

35.1

Hokuriku

17

43

30.7

All lines

-

1,180

31.0

Tokaido28, 29

98

32.7

Sanyo

30, 3198

32.7

Kyusyu

32

51

34.0

Tohoku33, 34, 35

46

66.7

All lines

-

293

35.8

2.2 Noise Measurement
Shinkansen railway noise levels were measured by the Ministry of Environment at reference
points in 34 areas through social surveys in 2012, 2013, and 2017. The noise measurements were
performed at No. 1-17 in 2012, No. 18-27 in 2013, and No. 28-35 in 2017. The reference points werepositioned 25 m from the railway in 2012 and 2013, and 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 m from the railway in2017. A-weighted sound pressure level with a 1 s time constant was measured every 1 s during thepassage of a Shinkansen train. LA,Smax or energy averaged indices, such as LAeq,24h and Lden , were
calculated from the level records.
Furthermore, distance reduction equations were formulated using the measurement in 2017. Noise
exposure levels were estimated at the facades of the houses with the distance reduction equations.

1516

2.3 Analysis
Becauuse the mainn objective ofo this study is to investigate the relaationship bettween the nu
umber of
Shinkan sen noise evvents and an
nnoyance, a multiple log
gistic regression analysiis was applieed with amous variablle of “very annoyed (diisturbed) or not” as the dependent vvariable andd LA,Smax ,dichotomnumber of Shinkanseen noise eveents, length oof residence, age, and sex
x as the indeppendent variaables. Allw
perform
med with JMP
statisticaal analyses were
P 14.

Figure 1 – Survey areeas along Shiinkansen railway lines
Tokaido-line

Sanyoo-lineKyu
usyu-line

T
Tohoku-line

Jyoetsu-line

Hokuriku-lline

10

Number of survey areas

9
8
7
6

〔40-90/dayy〕
10areas（n=4415）

〔90-190/day〕
9areas（n=373）〔190-2290/day〕
5areas（n=223）〔290-340
0/day〕
10areas（nn=444）

5
4
3
2
1
0
30
0 40 50 60 70
0 80 90 100 110
0 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240
2 250 260 270 280
2 290 300 310 32
20 330 340

Shink
kansen train pas
ss-byes a day

F
Figure 2 – Nuumber of surrvey areas acccording to thet number ofo train passs-byes per daay

3. RESULTS
3.1 Deemographic
c Variables
Tablee 2 shows thhe distributio
on of demoggraphic variaable. 75 % ofo respondennts had lived
d in theirhomes foor more thann 10 years, ap
pproximatelyy two thirds ofo responden
nts were 60 yyears old or more,mandthere weere more fem
males than maales. There sseems to be little differen
nce in %VA bbetween the length ofresidencce and sex. %VA%
for resid
dents in theiir 40s to 60s is higher thaan for other generations..
3.2 Nooise LevelssLA,Smades of housses ranged from 53 to 84 dB and from 36 too 66 dB,max and L den at the faca
respectivvely. The nuumbers of respondentsrges of LA,Smax < 65, 65 ≤ LA,Smax < 70,
7 70 ≤
in the rang
LA,Smax < 75, and 75 ≤ LA,Smax weere 739 (51%%), 449 (31%%), 202 (14%%), and 65 (4 %), respectively (see1517

Table 3). The environmental quality standard values are 70 dB and 75 dB depending on the area
characteristic. Because various noise countermeasures have been taken along the railways, thenumber of respondents exposed to more than 75 dB is currently low.
Table 2 – Distribution of demographic variables
Item

Category

Resident
Age

Sex

sample (%)% Very Annoyed

Y<10

24.7

28.6

10≤Y

75.3

28.1

<30

5.2

21.9

30s

8.5

29.2

40s

10.9

33.1

50s

12.4

29.3

60s

26.8

32.4

70s

36.2

21.6

female

57.5

25.1

male

42.5

29.6

Table 3 – Sample size according to maximum noise level
Number of Shinkansen noise events
Item

Category

40-90/day

90-190/day

190-290/day

290-340/day

Sample Size

L A,smax <65

201

177

127

234

65≤ L A,smax <70

147

103

51

148

70≤ L A,smax <75

60

61

29

52

75≤ L A,smax

7

32

16

10

3.3 Relationship between Noise Exposure and Annoyance
Figure 3 (a) and (b) show the relationship between LA,Smax and %VA, and between Lden and %VA,
respectively. There is no clear difference between the two relationships; %VA increases as noise
exposure increases in both.

1000
900

80

800

70

700

60

600

50

500

40

400

30

300

20

200

10

100

0

0
<65

65-70
70-75
LA,Smax (dB)

75≤

very

moderately

slightly

not at all% VeryAnnoyed% Very Annoyed

90

respondent：n = 1,455

100

extremely

Sample Size

100

% Very Annoyed(b) Lden against %VA

respondent：n = 1,455

1000

90

900

80

800

70

700

60

600

50

500

40

400

30

300

20

200

10

100

0

0
<50

50-55
55-60
Lden(dB)

60≤

extremely

very
Sample Size(a) LA,Smax against %VA

moderately

slightly

not at all% VeryAnnoyedFigure 3 – Exposure-%VA relationships
3.4 Relationship between Noise Exposure and Listening / Sleep Disturbances%D for listening is 30 % or more in the range of 70-75 dB for LA,Smax and in the range of 55-60 dB
for Lden (see Figure 4). %VSD is less than 10% over the whole noise exposure range (see Figure 5).
Sleep disturbance is much less than listening disturbance because Shinkansen trains are operated only
from 06:00 to 24:00.

1518

(a) LA,Smax against %D for listening(b) Lden against %D for listening

respondent：n = 1,455% Disturbed for listening

telephone/TV/radio listening disturbance% Disturbed for listening

100

900

90

900

80

800

80

800

70

700

70

700

60

600

60

600

50

500

50

500

40

400

40

400

30

300

30

300

20

200

20

200

10

100

10

100

0

0

0

<65

65-70
70-75
LA,Smax (dB)

Sample Size

% Disturbed for listening

1000

90

100
% Disturbed for listening

respondent：n = 1,455

other response

telephone/TV/radio listening disturbance

1000

Sample Sizeother response

0
<50

75≤

50-55

55-60

60≤

Lden (dB)Figure 4 – Exposure-%D relationships(a) LA,Smax against %VSD(b) Lden against %VSD
respondent：n = 1,455

other response

sleeping disturbance% Very Sleep Disturbed

100

90

900

90

900

80

800

80

800

70

700

70

700

60

600

60

600

50

500

50

500

40

400

40

400

30

300

30

300

20

200

20

200

10

100

10

0

0

0
<65

65-70
70-75
LA,Smax (dB)

Sample Size

% Very Sleep Disturbed

1000

1000

Sample Size

% Very Sleep Disturbed

100% Very Sleep Disturbed

respondent：n = 1,455

other response

sleeping disturbance

100
0
<50

75≤

50-55

55-60

60≤

Lden (dB)Figure 5 – Exposure-%VSD relationships
3.5 Effect of Number of Noise Events on Exposure–Annoyance Relationships
Figure 6 plots LA,Smax against %VA among the event number categories. %VA increases as the event
number increases up to the range of 190 to 290, and then it decreases for the range of 290 to 340, as
shown in Figure 6 (a). The data include extremely high %VA in Areas No. 4 (65%) and No. 5 (73%).
Area No. 5 is in a valley, and it might be affected by echoing. However, it is unclear why %VA in Area
No. 4 is so high. Figure 6 (b) shows the results excluding the two anomalous areas. Almost the same
trend as in Figure 6 (a) is seen, but saturation appears to occur after approximately 300 events per day.
(a) %VA for all areas(b) %VA excluding No.4 and No.5
respondent：n = 1,455

100
90

90

290-340/day

80

290-340/day

8070
190-290/day

60
50
40

90-190/day

30% Very Annoyed% Very Annoyed

respondent：n = 1,371

100

70
190-290/day

60
50
40

90-190/day

30
20

20
40-90/day10
040-90/day

10
0

<65

65-70
70-75
LA,Smax (dB)

75≤

<65

65-70
70-75
LA,Smax (dB)75≤

Figure 6 – %VA according the number of Shinkansen noise events
3.6 Effect of Number of Noise Events on Exposure–Annoyance Relationships
The results of multiple logistic regression analysis for annoyance are shown in Table 4. The
maximum noise level (LA,Smax ) is significant because the odds ratio referring to LA,Smax<65 dB
increases as the noise level increases, and the lower value of the 95 % confidence interval is more1519

than 1. The number of Shinkansen noise events is also significant. The odds ratio for 190-290/day,referring to 40-90/day, is largest, followed by 290-340/day and 90-190/day. The length of residence,
age, and sex are not significant. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis for TV/radio
listening disturbance are shown in Table 5. The maximum noise level (LA,Smax ) is significant in all
ranges. The number of noise events is significant only in the 190-290/day and 290-340/day ranges.
The results of multiple logistic regression analysis of sleep disturbance are shown in Table 6. LA,Smax issignificant only in the range of 70-75 dB. The number of Shinkansen noise events is not significant.
Table 4 - Multiple logistic regression analysis of Annoyance
Item

Category

Intercept
L A,smax

Number of Events

Resident

Sex

Standard
error-2.6460.363

p value

Odds ratio

Lower
95% CI

165≤ L A,smax <70

0.898

0.151

<0.0001

2.454

1.825

70≤ L A,smax <75

1.496

0.187

<0.0001

4.464

3.092

6.446

75≤ L A,smax
40-90/day

2.313

0.311

<0.0001

10.1001

5.489

18.58590-190/day

0.504

0.189

0.0076

1.656

1.143

2.399

190-290/day

1.424

0.213

<0.0001

4.156

2.738

6.309

290-340/day

0.824

0.178

<0.0001

2.280

1.608

3.231

0.684

1.385

Y<10

1
0.180

0.8799

0.973

30s

0.266

0.383

0.4874

1.305

0.616

2.767

40s

0.596

0.370

0.1074

1.814

0.879

3.746

50s

0.464

0.379

0.2214

1.590

0.756

3.342

60s

0.489

0.354

0.1673

1.631

0.815

3.263

70s

0.026

0.357

0.9424

1.026

0.510

2.067

0.956

1.607

<30

1

female

1
0.215

0.132

0.10481.240

Table 5 - Multiple logistic regression analysis of telephone/TV/radio listening disturbanceCategory

Number of Events

Standard
error-3.941

0.584<0.000165≤ L A,smax <70

1.194

0.219

<0.0001

3.299

2.147

5.068

70≤ L A,smax <75

2.057

0.243

<0.0001

7.821

4.858

12.59075≤ L A,smax

2.586

0.335

<0.0001

13.2826.881

25.635

L A,smax <65

Lower
95% CI

Upper
95% CI1

90-190/day

0.067

0.259

0.7965

1.069

0.643

1.776

190-290/day

1.277

0.268

<0.0001

3.564

2.122

6.060

290-340/day

0.672

0.235

0.0042

1.958

1.236

3.104

0.669

1.723

Y<10

Age

<30

10≤Y

1520

Odds ratio

140-90/day

Resident

Sex

p value(AUC=0.750)

Estimate

Intercept
L A,smax

3.299-0.027

male

Item

Upper
95% CI<0.0001

L A,smax <65

10≤Y
Age

Estimate(AUC=0.718)

1
0.071

0.241

0.769

1.073
1

30s

0.544

0.601

0.3659

1.723

0.530

5.598

40s

1.143

0.578

0.0477

3.138

1.011

9.733

50s

0.850

0.593

0.1520

2.339

0.731

7.483

60s

0.699

0.569

0.2189

2.012

0.660

6.131

70s
female

0.402

0.573

0.4829

1.495
1

0.486

4.595

male

-0.3060.179

0.0868

0.736

0.519

1.045

Table 6 - Multiple logistic regression analysis of sleeping disturbance
Item
Intercept
L A,smax

Number of Events

Resident
Age

Sex

Category

L A,smax <65
65≤ L A,smax <70
70≤ L A,smax <75
75≤ L A,smax
40-90/day
90-190/day
190-290/day
290-340/day
Y<10
10≤Y
<40
40s
50s
60s
70s
femalemale(AUC=0.695)

Estimate

Standarderror

p value-5.3030.980<0.0001

0.997
1.837
1.447

0.614
0.619
0.896

0.10410.00300.1064-0.4280.672

0.5237

0.726
0.236

0.604
0.557

0.22950.6722

0.278

0.660

0.67380.518-0.126
0.342
0.319

0.949
1.091
0.896
0.907

0.58540.90800.70250.7249

0.174

0.426

0.6825

Odds ratio

1
2.711
6.278
4.249
1
0.652
2.066
1.266
1
1.320
1
1.678
0.882
1.408
1.376
1
1.190

Lower
95% CI

Upper
95% CI

0.814
1.865
0.734

9.023
21.12724.605

0.175

2.431

0.633
0.425

6.750
3.769

0.362

4.812

0.261
0.104
0.243
0.233

10.791
7.482
8.152
8.137

0.516

2.745

4. DISCUSSION
The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of event number on annoyance using
data from socio-acoustic surveys on Shinkansen noise carried out in 2014 and 2017.
For LA,Smax , %VA increases as the number of events increases up to 190-290/day and saturates
afterwards. For 290-340/day, %VA decreases. This may be because %VA is extremely high in areas No.
4 and No. 5 along the Sanyo Shinkansen line. Though we cannot identify the reason why theannoyance in Area No. 4 is so high, Area No. 5 is in a valley and might be affected by echoing, i.e., theso called amphitheater effect described by Guski et al. [3]. Because energy averaged sound level is
proportional to the logarithm of the event number, the trend of Figure 6 suggests that the annoyancecaused by Shinkansen noise is well described by energy averaged sound level.
This strongly suggests that an increase in the number of noise events above a certain high number(saturation point) will not lead to an increase in annoyance. Rylander et al. [2] assumed that “at a large
number of events, the number of events can no longer be discriminated (for instance, flickering of lightor applying pressure on the skin with high frequency). The sensation is interpreted as one ofcontinuous stimulus, even if the frequency of events is further increased.”Multiple logistic regression analysis of TV/radio listening disturbance shows that the number ofnoise events is insignificant for 90 ≤ N < 190 but significant for N ≥ 190. In the analysis of sleep
disturbance, the number of noise events is not significant in all categories because there are usually no
trains passing from 24:00 to 06:00. Though general annoyance is largely affected by the number ofnoise events, activity disturbances may be less affected by the number of noise events.
Almost all of the non-acoustic factors, such as sex, age, and the length of residence, areinsignificant in annoyance and activity disturbances, except for people in their 40s in
telephone/TV/radio listening disturbance. However, the odds ratio of age is the largest for people intheir 40s to 60s. as well as van Gerven et al. [4].

5. CONCLUSIONSIn Japan, when the index for Environmental Quality Standards for Shinkansen Superexpress
Railway Noise was established, the technical committee concluded that it was only necessary toestimate Shinkansen railway noise based on the maximum noise level for 100 to 250 Shinkansen trainpass-byes per day. We investigated the effects of the number of noise events on annoyance using
nation-wide social survey data on Shinkansen railways.

1521

The findings of this study are as follows:(i)
For LA,Smax , %VA increases as the number of pass-byes increases up to the range of
190-290/day and then saturates for 290-340/day.
(ii) Because the energy averaged sound level is proportional to the logarithm of event number, thetrend of the LA,Smax –%VA relationship suggests that the annoyance caused by Shinkansen noise
is well described by the energy averaged sound level.
(iii) Though annoyance is largely affected by the number of noise events, activity disturbancessuch as TV/radio listening disturbance and sleep disturbance, may be less affected by the
number of noise events.
We believe that considering the number of trains passing by is more effective for estimation of
annoyance caused by Shinkansen noise than only the maximum noise level (LA,Smax ).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We particularly acknowledge the support of The Ministry of Environment, who provided 2014social survey data and the 2012 and 2013 noise measurement data. We would like to thank Dr. M.
Morinaga and Dr. S. Yokoshima for their useful advice.

REFERENCES
1. Rice CG. Investigation of the trade-off effects of aircraft noise and number. J. Sound Vib. 1977; 52(3):325-344.
2. Rylander R, Bjorkman M. Maximum noise levels as indicators of biological effect. J. Sound Vib. 1988;
127(3): 555-563.
3. Guski R, Schreckenberg D, Schuemer R. WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European
Region: A Systematic Review on Environmental Noise and Annoyance. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public
Health. 2017; 14: 1539.
4. van Gerven PWM, Vos H, van Boxtel MPJ, Janssen SA, Miedema HME. Annoyance fromenvironmental noise across the life span. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 2009; 126(1): 187–194.

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