Pioneering study into rail suicides

One third of a million pounds is to be spent on a pioneering research programme to cut the rising number of suicides on the East Coast main line, which runs through York.

A train speeds through York Railway Station, where staff are aware of the need to identify anyone acting agitated or distressed or who may need help

Since the line was electrified in 1991 there have been 150 suicides on the track between London and the Scottish borders.

Besides the human cost of such a tragedy, railway suicides cost the industry millions of pounds each year in delays and repairs.

Railtrack is spearheading a unique research project in an attempt to gain a fuller understanding of the problem.

The study aims to:

Identify the characteristics of people who commit suicide on the railway system and the circumstances of the suicide

Assess the wider impact of railway-related suicides on families, railway staff, bystanders and staff from emergency services

Study the policy and actions of local agencies in preventing and coping with suicides on the railways and

Draw actions from coroners' records, Railtrack databases and case studies which might prevent suicides.

Railtrack and the NHS are splitting the cost of the £330,000, three-year research project.

Railtrack spokeswoman Sue Nelson has been instrumental in setting up the research project. She said certain patterns have emerged which will be examined more thoroughly in the study.

She said: "On the line there are a number of 'black spots' where the suicide rate is much higher than would be expected. One of these is between London and Stevenage and the other is Grantham and Doncaster. We have also had a number between Darlington and Newcastle.

"The days of the week seem to be Fridays and Tuesdays and the times of the year, November, February and March." She said the study would also focus on the "forgotten victims" - the drivers, rail staff and their families and the effects of a suicide on them.

Railtrack and York-based rail firm GNER have also worked with the Samaritans in an attempt to tackle the problem. Posters urging suicidal people to contact the Samaritans have been produced for stations. A pocket-sized book is also being drawn up for rail staff to advise them on how best to deal with distressed people.

Ms Nelson said: "Suicides on the railways are increasing and are a considerable worry to us. There are 175-plus suicides each year on the entire railway network which cost £2 million in delays and repairs."

Alison Dixon, director of York Samaritans, said: "We do welcome any publicity which might encourage potential callers to get in touch with us."

On track to reduce railway suicides

More people are killing themselves on the railway. MAXINE GORDON reports on a pioneering move to stem the tragedies on the East Coast mainline

The woman on the railway platform at York station seemed agitated and distressed. Moments later the sickening sound of screeching train brakes rang through the giant halls of the station.

Catherine Stimpson, then working as a Welcome Host for GNER at the station, turned to see the woman throw herself under the approaching train.

Miraculously, the woman rolled out the other side of the train unhurt.

Catherine helped bring her back to the platform and safety.

"I sat with her. She was very distressed. She really wanted to die," recalls Catherine, who is now a duty station manager with GNER at York.

"It was very sad. People dismiss people like that as mad, but I spoke to her and she had some big problems."

The woman left the station - but went on to kill herself on the railway down south a few weeks later.

The news shocked Catherine badly. "I felt somebody could have done something to help. But there are some cases you can't help - maybe that was her. But it does stay in your mind."

The experience has made Catherine more aware of the issue of suicides on the railway.

"I said our staff need training. We made them aware of the need to keep an eye on passengers.

"I told them of my experience. What we would do now is warn each other if we spot someone we think might need help."

Getting front-line station staff to act in such a way is part of the aim of a new, three-year, £333,000 research project jointly funded by Railtrack and the National Health Service.

The study has been launched in response to the rising number of suicides on the railways, but will focus on the East Coast mainline from London to the Scottish borders, which runs through York. Since the line was electrified in 1991 there have been 150 suicides on that stretch.

Certain 'black spots' have been identified - between London and Stevenage, Grantham and Doncaster and also between Darlington and Newcastle.

Besides the human cost of such a tragedy, railway suicides cost the industry millions of pounds each year in delays and repairs.

The study aims to:

Identify the characteristics of people who commit suicide on the railway system and the circumstances of the suicide.

Assess the wider impact of railway-related suicides on families, rail staff, by-bystanders and those in the emergency services.

Study the policy and actions of local agencies in preventing and coping with suicides on the railways.

Draw from coroners' records, Railtrack databases and case studies actions which might prevent suicides.

An important part of the research is on the so-called 'forgotten victims' of railway suicides: namely, train drivers, railway staff and their families.

Catherine knows the dreadful toll a rail track death can have on staff.

It was she who first met the driver from the Harrogate train which struck a woman on the track at Cattal Station last week.

"He was very clearly shaken. Awful things go through their minds like: Was it their fault? Could they have done anything else? But they couldn't have done anything."

She said all such drivers were offered counselling and were normally taken off the job for a while. Some go back, but others may never drive trains again and take early retirement.

"One guy at Newcastle has been involved with seven track deaths - he just keeps going. In some cases, you get people who stand on the tracks laughing at the driver as the train approaches.

"I have talked to some drivers involved in incidents like these and it's an awful experience. They can have nightmares and panic attacks afterwards. It's very, very sad."

And it can impact of life at home, too.

"They have got to be able to deal with it at home," says Catherine. "There are some dreadful stories and some people can talk about it and some can't.

"A duty manager at Doncaster once told me about a woman who jumped in front of a train as it was coming into the station. As it approached the platform, the woman was on the front of the train, still alive and calling for her mother."

Railtrack and GNER have already been working with the Samaritans in an attempt to tackle the issue of railway suicides.

Two years ago in a ceremony at Kings Cross station, London, a train was named The Samaritans and now huge posters have been made for stations across the country showing a telephone box and the words: 'There's a Samaritan at this station 24 hours a day'.

A pocket-sized book is also being prepared for rail staff to advise them on how best to deal with distressed people at stations.

Sue Nelson, of Railtrack in York, says the company's interest in the issue is not merely a commercial one.

"Cynics might say the only reason we are interested is because of the commercial benefit because we lose money if trains are delayed.

"As a commercial organisation we would be foolish to say we do not take financial factors into account. But the problem is of such significance, not only to railway staff but society in general, that we feel we must be seen to be doing something.

"Every suicide is a tragedy of great proportion, not only for the family of the victim, but its ripple affects the train driver, front-line staff, transport police, emergency services, coroner's officers, welfare organisations, the railway business, workmates as well as friends and relatives."York Samaritans: 01904 655888 or 0345 909090

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