Would you buy a house backing onto a railway line?

[jill5676]

We've seen a house we like, it's not perfect (small third bedroom) but nicely extended downstairs, doesn't need any work, has a big garden, it's in a good catchment area, just outside a big city, and it's close to amenities. It's an expensive area and we've been outbid several times. This one ticks most boxes but it has a railway line at the bottom of the garden. Two trains went past at viewing, it wasn't excessively loud but we could hear them. Obviously in the garden it would be louder.

In an ideal world, we'd not have trains passing, but it's hard to find something in this area as it's one of the few suburbs with excellent schooling. Would you/have you lived on a train line? For info, it's a single track suburban line with no freight trains but commuter trains passing every 15 mins from 6am-midnight.

I live opposite a railway line and it doesn't bother us at all - suburban line maybe 20 - 25m across the road and we're not near any points or close enough to the station to get the sound of brakes etc.

It helped that when we looked round a couple of trains went past and we barely noticed them, even though the house is single glazed. I don't notice them at all now, other than the one that goes past at 10:29 pm and I know it's time to put my light out if I'm reading in bed. We occasionally get a steam train or a diesel freight train (the sort that carry aggregate) and I do notice them, less because they are horrible noisy but because they sound slightly different.

The other major benefit for us is that we're not overlooked on that side at all which makes our house feel quite open. Yes, you could probably see into our bedroom from the train at night if the light is on, but no more so than from a house on the other side of the road.

As others have said, the only real downside is when they do track works overnight - that is annoying (angle grinders at 3am are not fun - and the incessant train horns!). Oh, and we weren't allowed to get a rescue cat because of being next to the railway line either!

This. I never believed it when people would say you don't hear them but can vouch for it now. Very occasionally we'll be lay in bed on a weekend morning with the TV off / no sound in the house and we will hear one go past but even that's rare.

We're about 30m away (if that).

I grew up in a house opposite train lines - never notices it. Until I moved out and couldn't sleep at night without the trains going past every now and then.

If it's at the end of the garden you can always plant trees / shrubs / climbers to muffle the noise.

I rather like the noise of a train... much better than a flight path.

I lived somewhere with traffic noise and for me, I could tune it out at the start, but the longer I lived there, the more intrusive it got. Lots of people here have experienced the opposite but I wanted to suggest that there are no guarantees which group you fall into until you live there.

I also have migraines and I can't imagine how awful I would feel with a train going past so frequently. Just my experience but I'm not sure I'd risk buying a house that isn't significantly cheaper with a reluctant husband. You can't guarantee that the area will remain in high demand and it might be difficult to sell if you need to.

Everyone’s different. I would love it and find it train sound reassuring and cosy (whereas I hate car noise) but sounds like OP you are worried enough about this for your DH that it might be one to pass.
If your next buy is for next ten years you should each have something you love about it and ideally no major hates on anything in the new place otherwise you’re storing up trouble for yourselves.

Yes, it's fine, better than a road, grow some hedging etc

I grew up next to a railway (suburbs) and have also lived next to one since (London). It's true that you get used to the noise. I'm autistic and can't abide people noise but mechanical noise your brain just filters out. You don't generally feel overlooked and the presence of a railway line rules out any likelihood of a housing development at the end of your garden in the future, which is when you really would feel overlooked. My only caveat is that where you have train lines, you also tend to have rats, which is non-ideal with small children - but then that would also be true if you lived next to open farmland. At least they don't muck-spread on the railway a couple of times a year. If the house is what you want in every other respect then personally I wouldn't hesitate.

On reflection, if the garden is very long, and you revisit at a time and pay deliberate attention when a couple of trains go by, and the schools were fantastic, then I'd probably go for it, especially if you will definitely not have any pets.

Knotweed is rife on railway sides. Check for it as much as you can before you buy, then ask the vendors if they've ever had people in to eradicate it. The stuff can grow a metre per day in the summer, and can affect foundations and buildings insurance (and if you wish to sell down the line.)

As someone who works in the rail industry on major projects I would never ever buy a house that backs onto the railway. If it’s an established route and you know what to expect ie train frequency and speed you could make an informed decision about whether to buy. However any expansion or change to the line eg electrifying the line if it isn’t already electrified will be permitted development and you will have very little say, if any, in what gets built.
Some people like pp have said enjoy the trains and learn to live with the noise but you need to be careful about any potential changes that could impact you in the future.

My great aunt, who passed away about 2 decades ago, used to live right next to a railway track in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, near Taplow Lake. I stayed there for a few days at a time, about half a dozen times, when I was much younger and I absolutely loved the sound of the trains rattling by. It definitely wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. But as previous posters have said, it depends if people on the trains are able to look straight into your windows. Most of the time they won't be able to. (They couldn't where my aunt lived....)

No different to living near an airport or a motorway.

I’d be more concerned if I had pets though - especially cats…

Most of the worries about this are myth. If you have JK just chuck some Roundup on it every few weeks to keep it in check. It'll eventually go.

Really like trains. I’d much rather a railway than a busy road.

Ive be streaming it online for the train spotters. you could make a mint

I lived in a 1st floor flat that the railway line went over a bridge that was more or less in line with my window, maybe 15 feet away. After about a week, I barely noticed them. Sometimes at night huge freight trains would be noticeable as they went on for so long but it just becomes white noise. But I grew up on a main road on the south circular in London so I guess always used to outdoor noise.

Same here, lived in a house with a railway line at the bottom of the garden. It wasn’t a very busy line but you soon got used to it and didn’t notice.

when they did the works at night it was a bloody nightmare. Workers shouting and heavy machinery.

Only funny thing is if the fast inter city went past and you were sat on the toilet at the time it would make the toilet shake a bit 😄

A friend has this and her garden is only about 40ft long. The train goes by twice an hour. It hasn't impacted at all, and the prices are bouyant (there's not a huge divide between her side if the street and non railway side).

To add it's worse if the train is higher than the garden.

We know when works are being done on the hedges etc. as we get rats in the garage. That bit is a pain. Generally no other issues.

I wouldn't. If it was a very quiet line with a couple of trains per day, yes - but not with several trains per hour. Sure, your brain will learn to block out the sound, but if the background noise is above a certain level, it's still an actual health hazard even if you learn to ignore it.

Then again, it's the same with houses on or near busy roads, so if you'd be fine with those, then the train line is probably no worse.

Absolutely love staying over in a friends house that has a train at the end of the garden! They are super happy there, trains very much not a problem, in fact feels friendly.
otoh, cannot stand houses on busy roads!

Same here.
Whenever I've been on the train, which would be slowing, to come into the nearby station, I've always struggled to see our hose, even though I know what I'm looking for. You certainly wouldn't be 'overlooking' the garden.

We also live in a house with a Trainline at the bottom of the garden. I agree with previous posters saying you don't hear them after about three days.
I love not being overlooked and I remember when my kids were babies they'd nod off to sleep with the repetitive sounds of the trains.
It also means the station is at the end of our road which is very handy!

Pets would be my worry- could they get access to the line?
( Cats especially)