Barnet and Camden assembly member Anne Clarke said local people had raised their frustrations with her reports Joseph Steen, Local Democracy Reporter

Anne Clarke - member of the London Assembly representing Barnet and Camden. — Anne Clarke AM – (Credit – GLA)

Residents and politicians have hit out at TfL over “disruptive” Tube noise they say has been plaguing streets on the border of Camden and Westminster for several years.

The sounds and vibrations from the Victoria Line coursing through Fitzrovia and the wider Warren Street Area have been shaking bed frames, waking people up in the early hours of the morning and keeping them up at night during Night Tube hours. While the Northern line also intersects the Victoria Line in Fitzrovia, it’s understood to be the Victoria line generating the disruptive noise.

Repeated complaints to the transport service, however, have been met by “broken promises” and “callous” inaction, claims one resident, Alex. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that a Transport for London staff member told him it had removed dozens of complaints from their list of active complaints, despite not resolving the noise and vibration nuisance issue.

City Hall politician Anne Clarke said residents have raised their frustrations due to the “increasingly disruptive” problem, reporting over 50 decibels (dB) of noise inside their properties – which they say is worsening.

TfL guidance from 2012 states that ground-borne noise from a newly-laid underground railway line is classed as “significant” if peak train pass-by noise (dB LAFmax) exceeds 40 dB and that “reasonable endeavours” should be taken to meet the more “stringent” 35 dB ceiling.

However, the residents cite the World Health Organisation’s guidance focusing on continuous overnight noise exposure (dB LAeq), which recommends 30 dB inside bedrooms.

Alex says sound measurements in Warren Street properties consistently reach 50 to 51 dB as trains pass every 1-2 minutes during peak hours, with frequent noise spikes constantly disturbing sleep.

Grinding the rails

TfL promised track-fastening systems to deal with the issue in 2018 before reneging after drivers complained about the sound inside the car. The authority later adopted a new fastening system in 2025 to replace the old fasteners in other areas despite “dangerously high” noise levels in the Warren Street Area, residents added.

Another option is rail grinding, which smooths the surfaces of the tracks to reduce friction – one of the main drivers of noise – but residents say this has been delayed on both northbound and southbound lines since July 2023 and May 2024 respectively, failing TfL’s recommended 3-6 month maintenance cycle.

TfL stresses that it has taken action with the “resources available” to it, such as using special equipment to test for noise and vibration inside residents’ homes, and that it plans to carry out “targeted interventions” in the autumn including rail-grinding. But residents say the problem is being “systematically” dodged by the authority.

They point to TfL’s refusal to bring back temporary speed restrictions, which they claim would reduce the noise, out of concern it would create cumulative journey delays across the line. Residents who have measured the train travel times say it adds fewer than 10 seconds to the journey, and that this is a small compromise to immediately tackle the problem.

Alex asked TfL how much its installation and removal of old track fastenings had cost, but was told to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to find out. TfL responded to his other enquiries about temporary speed restrictions by saying they were “still awaiting the details”.

‘Not good enough’

London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, Anne Clarke (Labour), told the LDRS that TfL’s response was “simply not good enough”.

She said: “These residents have been living with unacceptable levels of Tube noise and vibration for far too long. For years, they have endured disruption in their own homes, while very little has been done to address the issue. Even through my own efforts to engage TfL, their solutions have had virtually no impact.

“It is simply not good enough. TfL must take these concerns seriously, investigate what is causing this problem and set out a clear plan to reduce noise and vibration.”

There are 11 separate questions listed on the London Assembly website, dating back to 2019, which have been formally submitted and answered regarding Tube noise in Fitzrovia and the Warren Street Area.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We understand the importance of managing noise levels from the Tube for our customers, staff and neighbours and have met with local residents on several occasions to update them on the work we are doing and the challenges we are facing.

“We continue to invest in the maintenance and renewal of our track across the network to ensure that it complies with engineering and safety standards. With the resources available to us, we have initiated a number of specific actions at this location, to reduce the noise and vibration generated, while also slowing the rate at which the track wears – a significant contributor to track-generated noise.”

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