A ground-borne noise and vibration damping system in which is a track bed formed with rails for a railway vehicle and generating noise and vibration, a structure is to be protected against the noise and vibration; and a damper for ground-borne noise and vibration is embedded vertically in the ground and interposed between the track bed and the structure. The damper has two upright rigid concrete plates defining a vertical gap between them, and an elastic mat sandwiched between the concrete plates and in contact therewith.