TRAIN operator First Capital Connect (FCC) says it has turned down the volume of the announcements at St Albans City Station. The district council, which had threatened to take action after a number of complaints, said that FCC had given assurances that i

TRAIN operator First Capital Connect (FCC) says it has turned down the volume of the announcements at St Albans City Station.

The district council, which had threatened to take action after a number of complaints, said that FCC had given assurances that ithad carried out noise reduction measures which it considered to have solved the problem.

But the council said it was consulting with residents and would make its own assessments before deciding if any action was required.

In January, the council's environmental health department told FCC to turn down the volume of the announcements system at St Albans Station after measuring the noise levels and finding that they exceeded legal limits.

But since then there have been further complaints from nearby residents about the announcements, and the council has had to take formal action after finding the volume was still too high.

A spokesman for FCC said: "We have made a number of changes since the meeting with the council. We have significantly reduced the speaker output, measured the levels on the local roads around the station and continued to train our staff in the use of the equipment. The decision now rests with the council."

Herts County Councillor for St Albans Central, Chris White, who originally raised the issue with the council said: "We've been here before and I don't want to find the volume is turned back up. However we seem to have made a step forward and I welcome it.