Dear neighbours,
As you have probably noticed, the noise coming from the exposed tube tracks on both sides of Acton Street has materially worsened in recent months. Every time a Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan tube carriage heads northbound (doesn’t affect southbound tracks) from Farringdon to King’s Cross St Pancras, that is about every 2 minutes, seven days a week from 5:30 am to about 12:30am, we hear a loud and echoing “clickety-clack” noise that lasts a good 5 seconds which seems to come from the tracks just before or underneath the C20 bridge (Acton Street). This noise is new, loud, abnormal, and way above and beyond any other tube noise that we’ve experienced to date in the area. TFL has sent an engineer to make sound measurement in the area on January 28th (Graham Jump) and acknowledged there is indeed an issue to be sorted. His report is pending, but he alluded that the remediation could take anything from a few months to a couple of years (!) depending on how TFL chooses to prioritize the issue. The noise may not be audible indoors from the windows overlooking Acton Street when good double-glazed windows are closed, but bear in mind the summer months when they may be open, in particular overnight – to be woken up at 5:30am including on weekends is not a particularly pleasant experience…
Please join me and complain to TFL so that they prioritize getting the tracks in the area fixed as soon as possible by filling a complaint form at the following web address: https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-tube-and-rail, or by calling TFL on 0343 222 1234. The case officer is Derek Wilson.
It did not used to be that way, this degradation is caused by overdue maintenance and this noise is detrimental to the well-being and sleep of the residents, and potentially of properties value. Many thanks in advance, the more complaints TFL receive, the more they will be compelled to act quickly!
WC1X - South East of Kings Cross 
One response to “Tube noise on Acton Street”
TFL has replied: “Most of your noise is caused by a couple of joints on the Hammersmith and City line rails. The joints are connected to the signalling system, so regretfully they can’t be completely removed, but we’ve asked the Track Manager to inspect them to see if anything can be done to improve their condition. I’m afraid this might take some time, as safety-critical track repair work always has to take priority over noise-reducing work, but as soon as I learn whether their condition can indeed be improved, I’ll let you know.
My understanding is that the signalling system is due to be upgraded within the next couple of years. Once that happens, the joints can be taken out, as they’ll no longer be required. However, I acknowledge that this is a lengthy period of time to wait, so hopefully the condition of the joints can be improved in the meantime as an interim measure.”
Again, more than ever, the more we complain to TFL and put pressure on the matter, the earlier there’s a chance to see this resolved…