Background Commission Decision 2006/66/EC sets out the technical specifications for inter-operability relating to the rolling stock noise of the trans-European conventional rail system. This decision aimed to reduce noise due to rail traffic. In 2007, the Commission furthermore launched a communication campaign entitled ‘Rail noise abatement measures addressing the existing fleet’. Some 600 000 freight cars run night and day through Europe. Rolling noise is currently measured by railway operators or regional authorities in those freight corridors most subject to noise nuisance. Objectives The main objectives of the DECIBELL project were to conduct a technical assessment of an innovative substitute brake shoe for railway freight cars and to demonstrate its safety, economic performance and noise reduction effectiveness. The aim was to reduce noise by a factor of 2 to 4 (i.e. 10 to 15 dbA) compared with current levels, and to decrease the carbon footprint of Europe’s freight sector by supporting a shift from road to rail traffic. The project also aimed to create rolling noise maps for each EU Member State from available rolling noise data. Results The DECIBELL project was only partially implemented. Following the failure of the prototype brake shoe in crucial tests in 2011, the beneficiary announced that it could not reach the project objectives by the end of 2012 and, on this basis, the EC decided to terminate the project early in November 2011. The project produced its prototype LL brake shoe from different composite materials. A total of 900 brake shoes were produced: 150 for each of six material grades tested. Three of these grades were selected for testing on freight wagons. By using its LL sintered brake block material to substitute the cast iron brake blocks on existing freight wagons the project sought to reduce the noise associated with braking. Associated beneficiary Faiveley Transport Gennevilliers obtained the International Union of Railways (UIC) certification for the testing. Technical assessment of the novel brake shoe was carried out by the UIC on railway locomotives. During this assessment, the prototype failed in the shunting test. The LL brake shoes were intended for freight cars, so success in the shunting tests was compulsory. Coordinating beneficiary Faiveley Transport launched a study to understand why the LL brake shoe failed, which was implemented in partnership with a university outside of the LIFE programme.