An experimental study on combined effects of high-speed railway noise and vibrations on activity disturbances

This experimental study was carried out to examine the combined effects of high-speed (Shinkansen) railway noise and vibrations on activity disturbances. Participants were ten women and ten men (18-22 years) with normal hearing ability. The Shinkansen railway noise and vibrations used as stimuli were recorded near the Hokuriku Shinkansen railway. The audio stimuli had LAmax values of 50, 60, and 70 dBA, whereas the vibration stimuli had three types (without, middle, and high) of vertical vibrations. The subjects were exposed to these combined stimuli while they engaged in 30-second activity tasks (reading and thinking). The results indicated that there were significant differences in subjects' evaluations of vibration cognition between all of the vibration stimuli during the reading task. In contrast, during the thinking task, we observed no differences between the without and middle vibration conditions in the 60 and 70 dBA conditions. We observed significant differences in evaluations of activity disturbance between the without and high vibration conditions in the 50 and 60 dBA conditions during the reading task and between the without and middle or high vibration conditions in the 50 dBA condition during the thinking task.