Discussions are underway in Europe between railways and the various directorates of the European Commission with the objective of implementing European Union policy to transfer traffic from road to rail without having a detrimental effect on the noise environment next to railways. This paper discusses noise mitigation options, including both barriers and low-noise vehicles. The European railway bodies support environmental noise reduction and have suggested several areas where joint actions would be beneficial to EU transport and environmental policies, including the involvement of the railway bodies in any initiatives to reduce noise as well as the need to take steps to ensure that the technical and financial capabilities for the railways and private wagon owners are taken into account and that rail's competitive position is not weakened.