System, method and support element for actively damping acoustic vibrations of a rail for rail traffic

A rail traffic path comprising a rail for rail traffic, a counterweight stationary relative to a substructure of the rail, and a system for actively attenuating acoustic vibrations of the rail, the system comprising:

• a) at least one sensor for detecting at least a vertical acoustic vibration of the rail,
• b) at least one actuator for exciting at least a vertical counter-vibration of the rail, and
• c) at least one control unit communicatively connected to the at least one sensor and the at least one actuator for controlling the at least one actuator depending on the vibration detected by the sensor,
• d) wherein the counter-vibration is adapted to destructively interfere with the detected vibration, and
• e) wherein the at least one actuator is mechanically coupled to the rail and to the counterweight,
• wherein
• f) the at least one sensor is configured for detecting a horizontal vibration of the rail transverse to a longitudinal axis of the rail, and
• g) the at least one actuator is configured for exciting a horizontal counter-vibration of the rail transverse to a longitudinal axis of the rail.