Oberbuchsiten SO Residents turn a blind eye to Migros frozen food trucks

Residents in Oberbuchsiten SO are complaining about night-time noise and the smell of diesel from Migros freezer trucks. Electric motors are to replace diesel engines in future to improve the situation.

From Monday to Friday, SBB provides trains for deep-freeze transportation at Oberbuchsiten SO station at midnight. However, some residents are annoyed by the night-time activities, as reported by "20 Minuten".

One resident lives right next to the station. For two years, he has been waking up at night several times because of the noise. "I now take sleeping pills because of it," he says. The odor emissions from the locomotive are also unpleasant. He wrote to Migros some time ago, but the situation has not improved.

Another resident confirms that the situation has worsened in the last two years, with "whistling, squeaking and honking" due to the shunting operations, he says.

Residents have "almost gone mad"

It is understandable that not every noise can be stopped. However, the locomotive is also left running during breaks, which produces even more noise. In the meantime, he and his family have "almost gone mad". They are not optimistic: "We'll just have to put up with it."

"You could park the freezer trucks a bit further away, then they wouldn't be right next to the houses," says an older man. As well as the freezer vans, he is also bothered by the diesel smell from the locomotive. They are simply left running, even when the workers are taking a break. He also finds the times at which the noise is emitted inappropriate: "I don't understand why it has to be at half past two in the morning."

Migros has not received any active complaints

Migros commented to "20 Minuten" that air conditioning compressors powered by diesel engines are used to maintain the required freezer temperatures. "These engines generate a certain noise level, which is referred to as diesel emission noise," explains spokeswoman Stefanie Weyand. However, the noise generated is basically zoning-compliant.

Migros also says that it has not received any active complaints in connection with Oberbuchsiten station at the moment. The last complaint dates back seven years. "It was successfully resolved in a cooperative collaboration between the resident concerned, SBB Cargo and Migros Verteilbetrieb AG," says Weynand.

SBB wants to implement noise abatement measures

Spokeswoman Weynand goes on to say that SBB has already implemented noise abatement measures at its freight stations in order to minimize the noise caused by operations. In addition, Migros Verteilbetrieb AG is currently working with SBB Cargo on a project in which the air conditioning compressors are to be powered by electric motors in future. "This project aims to reduce the emission noise caused by diesel generators," says Weynand.

She assures: "We consider the concerns and complaints of residents in the surrounding communities to be very important and are addressing them with the utmost care."