Transporting goods and passengers by rail is not noise-free. To reduce noise and increase acceptance of rail transport, Deutsche Bahn aims to relieve local residents together with the federal government. Through the german government's voluntary noise abatement program, sound-insulating windows or wall insulation are installed in affected homes – in 2024 alone, in around 2,000 additional apartments.

By 2030, Deutsche Bahn together with the federal government aims to relieve more than 800,000 residents from railway noise as part of the noise abatement program. This is more than half of all residents currently living along affected routes. By 2050, all affected residents are expected to benefit from reduced railway noise.