The increasing number of urban railway lines laid around residential areas has inevitably caused major noise pollution problems to the residents. Noise pollution can cause health problems. The objectives of the study were to assess the level of railway noise, to research the existing attitudes and response of residents on railway noise in a selected sampling area and to compare noise levels during different time interval in Serdang Lama. The noise parameters measured were LAeq, Lmax, Lmin, L10, L50 and L90. Data and statistical analyses were done on the data samples. The study revealed that, on a daily basis, the noise level exposure experienced by the residents exceeded the limits set by World Health Organization.

According to Sumiani and Asila (2005), during the 1960s, noise pollution was generally not considered a serious environmental issue. However, a massive public opinion survey conducted in the US in the early 1970s revealed that the public ranked noise pollution as a serious problem, but noise control advocates were unable to develop the same type of organized constituency that evolved to support clean air and water. The reason is that noise is a subjective experience and it does not remain in the environment for an extended period. In Malaysia, very few studies and researches have been conducted on the subject of noise pollution. This is because awareness regarding noise pollution is still low. Noise has been tended to be accepted as the necessary price of development.

Rapid population growth is one of the reasons for the increasing noise problem. As population increases, the requirements for goods, services and transportation also increase. More and more urban highways and railways have been and continue to be built with growing demand for public transportation. This study will only focus on the railway noise. Railways are entering a new era of higher speeds and higher capacities, both for intercity and urban systems, and are set to play their part in reducing the environmental burden caused by the growth in road transport (Thompson and Jones, 2000). A railway has an important role as one of the typical public transportations. According to Wu (2008), railway is seen as a means of environmental-friendly transportation by providing clean and efficient mass transit. The residential environment along the railway lines has been affected by noise and vibration, and has been recognized as a social problem (Yohzoh and Kazuhiro, 1991). However, railway noise is regarded as one of the least offensive forms of transportation noise, if compared to traffic noise with relatively few complaints arising from normal operations (Shield et al., 1989).

Railway Noise in a Residential Area, Noise pollution, Railway noise, Residential area, Noise annoyance, Noise parameter, public transportation, World Health Organization, clean air and water, services and transportation, environmental burden, clean and efficient, mass transit.