Noise is a great concern to those living around rail routes. For example a typical coal train in the Hunter area is 1500 metre long, weighs 10 500 tonnes and can be very noisy and cause vibrations. The State Government is committed to reducing railway noise. In 1998 the State Government announced an $8.6 million program to ameliorate local noise and vibration including the construction of vegetated earth mounds, acoustic barriers, treatment on individual houses and the monitoring of rail noise.