The aforementioned noise barriers near Harderwijk (1.6 kilometres) and Utrecht (400 metres) need to be a lot less high to still achieve a noise reduction of 60 per cent. In terms of costs, Rijkswaterstaat and Prorail respectively are 40 to 50 per cent cheaper than when higher screens are installed.

And local residents do not have the idea of a Berlin wall in front of their door, as the screen is not 4 metres, but only 1.75 metres high. Attached to the noise screen is a piece of Twente technology, the diffractor. This is a kind of grid that dampens the noise.

Other projects on four steel railway bridges in the Netherlands are planned for 2025 at 4Silence. A so-called Whislayer, an innovative solution that dampens the noise of trains passing over it, will be fitted to the bridges. In short, things are finally looking good for 4Silence.

‘We can finally go full throttle,’ says Eric de Vries in his office, housed at Technology Base in a former munitions bunker. ‘The adventure is really just starting now.’

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