Would you buy a house that backed onto a train line?

[nicolllaaaaaaa]

Hello, Great house, great area. Backs onto a trainline. Would love some perspective. Thank you.

I did and it was fine. It was a fright line so trains were more of an evening / overnight and long and slow. They were loud and rumbled but to be honest I was used to it and it was also a bit comforting weirdly knowing they’d be going past at certain times.

But - I could only hear them from back kitchen / bathroom and also it was a terrace at the top of an embankment so wasn’t overlooked or anything.

Was also under a flight path - and that was fine too.

My parents have bought next to the train line - not at the end of the garden but very close and it's terrible, especially in summer when you want to sleep the windows open and those very very long, very noisy and very slow freight trains pass during the night.

Also I would check if the passengers can see into your garden, I would find this very intrusive (The girl on the Train, anyone?)

Yes it was near the station and needed the station/line to get to the city and work . Otherwise depend on frequency of trains, length of garden and whether it was better value than houses of similar size.

We do however it's only two trains an hour and no fast trains. We also live near the station so they are slowing down as they come in.
Noticed the noise when we first moved in and when in the garden (and when first lock down ended and we suddenly had full timetable).
Mostly it doesn't bother us and it wouldn't stop me buying another house on a train line.
Houses on our road rarely come up for sale but get snapped up quickly so hasn't put buyers off.

Yes, much better than a busy road. There’s a rhythm to it. Years ago I lived in a house like this. It wasn’t the main 125 line but a branch commuter line into London. The only time it disturbed me was when I woke with a start one morning (and realised it was because the trains were on strike and the expected 6.15 had not come through)

we’ve lived in a cul de sac and have backed on to a train line for 9 years , i was worried before we moved in, but i can honestly say i don’t notice the trains - unless we are in the garden . it wouldn’t put me off buying , and one the plus for us is that there are no houses behind us looking over our garden ,

The most blissfully peaceful house I’ve ever lived in was one that backed onto a train line in a deep cutting. No car traffic, no train noise, lots of wildlife.

I grew up in a house near the train line but not a busy line. I loved the trains ( every 1-2 hours not at night) but occasionally woken when they were doing works at night). Trains are are comforting noise I find.

Depends
We are close by the line but trains are slow and we are right by the station.
Previous town we lived had the Euston to all points north line with inter city trains
Different ball game

but don't the toilets empty straight out onto the train line

I bought a house once and on viewing thought it was only a single track train line behind the house. I moved in and quickly discovered it was a main line, to be honest I do not recall it bothering me much. Maybe I did in the middle of the night when a goods train went rumbling past and the bedroom vibrated.

Yes I would. I've lived next to the train line for most of my life. I currently don't and it's kind of strange not hearing the rumbling every 10 minutes.

In one of the houses I lived in as a student we used to have the daily 11.15pm freight train as a bedtime signal. It was very loud and lasted for a good 5 minutes. I probably wouldn't like that with babies or young children, unless they were such good sleepers that they stayed asleep through that.

Think I would as would quite like the rumbling noise.

We back onto open parkland, grass, trees, footpaths etc so all very green and pretty and we wake up to birdsong. However late at night there is either teenagers or foxes shouting and making a racket so would happily trade them for the odd train I think!

I wouldn't even consider a house next to a railway line. Also wouldn't consider one on a through road of any kind - all my homes have been in cul-de-sacs. I couldn't stand trains and cars going past all the time. I live in a built up area but I can sit in my garden at any time on any day and can't hear anything but the birds.

I’m a very light sleeper so no

Yes, but I love trains. Lived in a rented house that backed onto a train line and loved it (but I can sleep through anything and even found the regular late night trains marked my bedtime quite nicely).

I’m one row back from a railway line. The houses across the road which do back onto the line, have the advantage of very long gardens. I hear the trains hooting as they pass, but it’s a soft noise which I’m quite fond of.

I don’t know how much pollution the trains cause, but I’d look into this if I were thinking of moving closer. My only other concern would be DD trying to reenact The Railway Children.

I grew up next to a single train line. No problems ever. The noise was not bothersome at all.

We always had cats, none were squished.

As kids we loved waving at the trains going past. And it didn’t deter my parents sunbathing!

I wouldn’t personally, but many do & say they soon get used to the sounds. It depends if the house is ideal & price is right. I would worry about future resale though.

I guess it depends entirely on where you live. I'm in Herts/NW outer London. Most houses in my town have M25 noise, some have noise from the main roads and there's a bit of noise from planes taking off or landing at Heathrow. Therefore a bit of background rumbling from trains really doesn't bother me and the houses that back onto the train line have some of the largest gardens in our town.

My uncle lived in a house overlooking a field in the Peak District. In blissful silence. He genuinely couldn't fathom why we'd buy a house by the railway. It's all relative, living in many parts of the South East comes with a sacrifice in terms of noise, proximity to a rail link, traffic jams or whatever. We traded off the slight train noise for a big garden and nice views but others might have a different view.

Provided the garden was sufficiently large and it wasn't the central line screaming past every 2 minutes, I would do this. I would also build a big shed at the bottom of the garden the whole way across to help absorb noise and vibrations

@Yohoheaveho

but don't the toilets empty straight out onto the train line

Not any more www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/10/train-toilets-to-no-longer-empty-on-to-tracks

Yes, absolutely. Growing up my parents house backed onto a busy major train line and it didn't bother me. Now we have a house backing onto a small branch line. The only time we notice it is if we're outside, and the train is gone in seconds. Much more house for our money! Also no/minimal air pollution from trains compared to roads.

Oh dear www.railway-technology.com/features/train-toilet-systems/

I lived near a train line and didn't notice them after a while. I lived in West London under the Heathrow flight path and it drove me crazy. Awake most mornings at 4am because they were so loud. There was never any peace. Being in the green parks there wasn't relaxing. Walking on the street, you could hardly hear the other person. Train over plane anyday.