Train Controller here, all freight and coal operators are 24-hour operations. They are loud, and depending on how close you are, they can be intrusive. The worst area is around the entrance to Carrington Port Waratah Coal Services between Waratah and Islington, they go slowly to minimise the squealing from the sharp corners but it's still loud. Hope that helps.

Great insights thanks

I lived just a couple of hundred metres from the line at Mayfield East. If you’re listening you can hear the trains but you get used to them super quickly and it’s just background noise but unnoticeable.

I’m unsure if it’s the same train line, but I live directly next to the train line of Waratah station. As in, it’s RIGHT behind my backyard. The coal/freight trains are extremely loud and screechy, and some will even shake my house slightly. I am going to try and re-negotiate my rent price in the next lease renewal due to it.

I’m the same but in Islington. My bedroom window shakes, they use the horn all hours of the night so I barely sleep, the horn sets my dog off, break screeches are THE WORST

People in this sub in the past have said they've had no issue living near this line, further along near Molycop too, but similar distance from the train line. A 1.6km long coal train goes along this line at any time of day or night, sometimes every 20 minutes. High pitched screeching from brakes and low loud thuds of dozens of train carriages shunting... So much noise. I rented in a similar area, was honest to my real estate about why I wanted to end my lease early, and they were fine with it, no early exit penalties.

Is your place on a bend in the train line? From other comments it seems the screeching noise is caused by the bends whereas the straight bits don't produce as much noise

It is not on a bend my friend. Totally straight line for around a kilometer each direction

Shit

There are a set of points on the country side of Waratah station to cross from the main to the coal road and vice versa - trains running through those tend to make a bit more noise than on straight track.

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I’m on the train line and they screech so loud when they are crawling

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Majority of coal will go to Kooragang but Carrington also has grain and general freight so it's pretty busy too.

Last year I use to live on Clara St in Mayfield east, it can be easy to hear at night when they are slowing down and taking off from the berth (banging between the carriages) but it’s not too distracting and wouldn’t wake me up, you get use to it quite fast and I found some of the cars on Maitland Rd were louder.

I live in Aberglasslyn in the new estate and can see the trains from my computer room (admittedly probably 500m away) but can hardly hear a thing when they go past

Look at the tracks themselves near where you want to live. The walls around the tracks and the slow speed do actually make a difference imo on mostly straight sections of track. I live about 5 houses from the tracks in Mayfield and while I do hear the trains it’s quiet enough that it’s not bothersome. Contrast this with a place I inspected in Heatherbrae that was roughly the same distance from the tracks. Thankfully a train went by during the inspection because it was so loud it was like standing directly next to the train!

Heatherbrae? 🤔 Closest rail to Heatherbrae is 9km away

You get used to it

Seems like a good place to share this. https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/programs/freight-noise-attenuation-program

Thank you. Great info