Shhh! BART Wheels Are Quieter (Video)

BAY AREA — Have you noticed? BART cars are getting quieter.

The agency began grinding down train wheels last year in a design that engineers believed would reduce noise. By slightly tapering the wheel, metal-on-metal contact and its noisy consequences were reduced.

The change has resulted in as much as a 15 decibel decrease in interior noise on the current fleet. Before you shrug your shoulders, BART reminds us that decibels—like the Richter Scale—are measured logarithmically, not linearly. So a 15 decibel decrease is many times quieter than before.

"Currently, 13% of our legacy fleet has been outfitted with the new wheel profile, and we estimate 90% will be converted by the end of 2019," BART said in a statement. "All new Fleet of the Future cars coming off the assembly line will be outfitted with the new profile, bringing much-needed relief to passengers and neighbors who live close to BART lines."

Next, BART plans to grind the rails in a custom profile to further reduce the screech level. That process is expected to take five years.

-Image by BART via YouTube

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