Fatalities This Week

[ChrisTheRef]

Noticed an alarming number of fatalities on the rail network over the last few days.

2 at Diss, Bamber Bridge, Stoke on Trent, Seaham, reports this morning of Leeds-Harrogate and Colchester-Ipswich both suspended this morning due to two more fatalities :/

Post summer (lack of summer?) depression?

 

[Thomas6187]

One at Styal late Wednesday evering too

 

[GB]

The two at Newton Flotman (between Diss and Norwich) are thought to be releated.

 

[michael769]

I cannot speak for these incidents but I have heard in the past that suicides can come in clusters. The thinking is that hearing about a suicide can be enough to push someone who is having such thoughts already over the edge.

 

[w0033944]

The section of GEML near me has a sad reputation for this - 2 at Newton Flotman, and at least one in recent years at my local crossing, Swainsthorpe, about 1 mile away.

 

[Bald Rick]

One at Rainham, Kent yesterday.

The one on the Harrogate line isn't a fatality though.

Average is about 5 a week nationwide, and there have been fewer in the last few weeks.

 

[SS4]

Post summer (lack of summer?) depression?

Have you been outside this week? Maybe last week or the last two weeks but not this one.

I'd be more interested to know if this is more or less than normal or whether the reporting makes it more common than it used to be.

 

[matrix]

it may be something as simple as due to the schools going back, other times are Christmas, new year, valentines day, etc I was only talking last week how its been quite for the last few weeks, unfortunately there are peak and troughs at certain times of the year and from experience working on a rail depot all to often we see the aftermath of the incident

 

[Rail.co]

http://www.rail.co/2012/09/07/solving-the-mystery-of-britains-unidentified-rail-deaths/

Solving the mystery of Britain’s unidentified rail deaths

On May 8, 1975, a man was struck and killed by a train at Mile End Tube station. To this day his body remains unidentified – and he’s not alone.

Since 2010, British Transport Police officers have been looking into 55 unanswered deaths that have occurred on or near Britain’s rail and Tube network since the mid-70s.

Most of the fatalities have been from train collisions, but the list also includes suicide, hypothermia and a man who suffered a heart attack at Euston station.

Operation Santana, which works in partnership with the Missing Persons Bureau, has so far identified six people who have died in non-suspicious circumstances on the rail network.

For the relatives of Derek Burns’ the investigation ended 23 years of speculation.

The 23-year-old was struck and killed by a train in West Hamstead in 1989 after travelling from his home in West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland, to visit his then girlfriend.

Using modern DNA profiling techniques police were finally able to formally identify Derek Burns’ body.

“We realised now that investigative techniques have changed. When a lot of these fatalities took place we didn’t have DNA profiling, so we saw an opportunity with some joint funding from NPIA to maybe give closure to families and link up missing people with some of these fatalities,” said DCI Simon Taylor – the officer leading the Derek Burns’ case.

...

I've been working on this piece the last couple of days, thought it might be of interest to this thread.

Around normal police work, BTP officers work on identifying rail fatalities as far back as 1975. They've managed to identify six in two years, but have 49 left.

The full article can be found by following the link.

 

[tsr]

I must say I am always saddened by hearing about these increases in people hit by trains - I think it must definitely be to do with calendar/seasonal variations, so, for example, at this time of year the summer draws to a close and things go back to a (for some) slightly miserable post-holiday routine. As someone who has fortunately never seen an incident of this nature, but has had best friends shaken up by such things, as well as having had to help passengers upset by disruptions, I can understand why an increase alarms people.

I dread the phone call that inevitably comes from time to time that tells me of an incident of this nature on one of my local lines... but as someone who is regularly close to the railway, I have to put up with it and stay positive - the important thing is to keep as calm as you can and, indeed, carry on as far as you can.

 

[ainsworth74]

I seem to recall around May/June that the network was recording about one fatality/incident per day, it seems to have been a bad year.

 

[ushawk]

Seems to be higher than average this year, was at least 1 a day at the beginning of the year i believe. Fortunately we havent had one down on the South Coast giving us a Code Red recently, was 1 at Aldrington last week, but fortunately it wasnt fatal as the person didnt actually go in front of the train, they ran into it instead and then ran off.

Usually 1 a week down here effecting us and touch wood we havent had one this week - and i hope it stays that way, its dreadful for all involved.

 

[user15681]

Any official statistics on this?

It certainly seems as though there have been more than average this past week. Maybe that's because there haven't been many in the few weeks before?

 

[jopsuk]

I cannot speak for these incidents but I have heard in the past that suicides can come in clusters. The thinking is that hearing about a suicide can be enough to push someone who is having such thoughts already over the edge.

indeed- and it is worse when reporting goes into detail about methods used for suicide.

 

[Rick1984]

Now I I'm going to be Controversial here but if you want to do away with your self please don't do it on a railway. Very selfish and just causes untold upset for many others

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I seem to recall around May/June that the network was recording about one fatality/incident per day, it seems to have been a bad year.

Just a thought, but how do the numbers of non fatal incidences compare to previous years? Are we in fact getting the same number of incidences but with a higher proportion within that proving fatal this year?

Without this knowledge we are only looking at half of the picture.

 

[MK Tom]

If we're saying the rail average is five per week, I wonder how many more or fewer suicides (as opposed to pedestrian fatalities generally) there are on the road network.

 

[swj99]

Now I I'm going to be Controversial here but if you want to do away with your self please don't do it on a railway. Very selfish and just causes untold upset for many others

I did a couselling diploma course a few years ago and one weekend there was a suicide workshop which was presented by The Samaritans.
I have to admit I knew very little about the subject so the whole thing was an eye opener.

One thing that's stuck in my mind was the fact that once someone has made a decision to end it all, they usually do, and often continue to try, even if the first attempt was not successful.

My late father was one from the generation that just got on with things and didn't 'do' depression. What I mean is many of them didn't know the meaning of the word. If you told them you were depressed, they gave you a quizzical look and said cheer up. They were never depressed themselves, or if they were, they were not aware of it. It was difficult trying to explain the concept of depression to them because they couldn't relate to what they had never experienced.

I've experienced depression in my life. I've been very lucky and never got so bad that I've decided to end my life. The nearest I've got is the point where I've said I didn't care if I lived or died (nothing to lose is a dangerous place to be). If there was a suicide scale, that would be down at the passive, "not actively seeking death, but not too bothered either way" end of the scale. Here, a person might be reckless ie not slowing down for a sharp bend when they normally would, or going outside when it's lightening, not caring if they get struck. At the other end of the scale is the person who has made a firm decision and is actively planning how to do it. Life is too precious in my opinion, and once it's over, it's too late to change your mind. And I don't think I'd choose the front of a train either. I doubt it's a completely painless way to go. I guess most of the suicide methods hurt quite a lot.
My own view is this. In between despair and suicide is another option. I think it applies in 99% of cases. Instead of ending it all, and on the basis you have virtually nothing to lose anyway, why not just max out the credit card, get yourself to the nearest dock and get on a cruise ship. It doesn't matter where it's going. Remember, it's better than being dead, because if you don't like it you can go home.

 

[MattRobinson]

Not wanting to give anyone ideas, but I've often thought that my local station is a likely location for suicides, as it's of the 1980s platform building style where it's all wooden frame construction with a wooden top. This means that there is a large cavity under the platform. A suicidal person could lay under the platform and stick just their head over the rail so that a fast train would decapitate them quite neatly. Unlikely that anyone on the train would know anything about it (even the driver, if they were to stick out their head outside of the driver's field of vision. If they felt it, it could be put down to a rough riding piece of track) until someone went to the station and found the aftermath...

 

[313103]

One on Wednesday morning on the Gospel Oak to Barking line near my local station Crouch Hill.

 

[es373]

Now I I'm going to be Controversial here but if you want to do away with your self please don't do it on a railway. Very selfish and just causes untold upset for many others

But when you are so depressed for whatever reason, you don't think of who you are affecting. You just want to get it done and do it right first time.

Most of the people who comment probably have never dealt with a fatality as these threads have been doing the rounds on forums for years.
Just be careful about what you post because there may be train crew on here who have been directly involved in recent rail deaths/near misses.

 

[deltic1989]

I may be opening myself up to a bashing here but....
We are all assuming that all of these fatalities were the result of suicide, some of them may have been accidents.
Now I'm no expert in this field but are there any official statistics available that indicate what proportion of these fatalities were intentional suicide and which were accidents.
It is perfectly possible for someone to be accidentally hit by a train weather by being careless or being inhibited in some way (either by drink, drugs or, both).

Having said that I do agree with swj99, if someone has made the conscious decision to end their life they will make every effort to make it happen.
I was at one point so far into the pits of depression that I did start making plans on how to end my life, and did attempt an overdose at one point.
I was lucky in that I had good friends that made it their business to show me how good life can be after my overdose, by going out of their way to show me a good time, I am eternally grateful to these people and I feel that I owe them my life, I therefore take every opportunity to help them where I can.
However there are some people out there that aren't as lucky as me and don't have those kind of friends and family, and they see steping out in front of a train as their only way out. It will be quick for them, but as another poster has said not for the railway and the passengers.

Whatever the circumstances, I always feel for the train crew, particularly the driver, as this kind of thing must be a huge blow to their confidence and I can imagine the mental scars of such and event haunting them.

 

[RPM]

Now I I'm going to be Controversial here but if you want to do away with your self please don't do it on a railway. Very selfish and just causes untold upset for many others

Not controversial, but probably a forlorn hope. If you are depressed enough to want to jump in front of a train you are probably well past the stage where you are capable of considering things like this.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It is perfectly possible for someone to be accidentally hit by a train weather by being careless or being inhibited in some way (either by drink, drugs or, both).

Or more likely, headphones.

 

[Rick1984]

Can I point out I have first hands experience of very severe depression (not myself)

 

[es373]

Rick, that's a contradiction in terms. If you haven't had it then you can't say you've for first hand experience with it. You may have known someone with it which is a different story.

Same can be said for myself, I broke it off with my ex a few weeks back then get a call a week later saying she had overdosed on anti depressants. Sad world.

If its actual facts and figures you are looking for then maybe you should request it from network rail?

 

[GB]

What ever the facts and figures might be, it must be unusual at the least to have 3 in 3 days on the same stretch of line?

 

[user15681]

My train just hit someone at Farningham Road, near Bromley/Rochester. 2 on this line in last few days. Coincidence or significant?

 

[Bald Rick]

There are stats on fatalities: those that are suspected suicides and those that are other causes. They appear on RSSB and ORR websites I think.

From memory there are c220 suspected suicides a year on the railway and about 30 of other causes. This includes trespassers, level crossing misuse, people falling down stairs / escalators at stations and occaisonally more serious crime. Also there are a small number that are never explained; I was involved in one of these last year.

The one at Farningham Rd should be resolved now.

 

[WelshBluebird]

My late father was one from the generation that just got on with things and didn't 'do' depression. What I mean is many of them didn't know the meaning of the word. If you told them you were depressed, they gave you a quizzical look and said cheer up. They were never depressed themselves, or if they were, they were not aware of it. It was difficult trying to explain the concept of depression to them because they couldn't relate to what they had never experienced.

I don't really agree with that.
Certainly it wasn't talked about, and where it was you were just told to "man up" or whatever (which usually does the exact opposite). But to say that people of that generation did not get depression is a little naive I think. More likely is that many did get depression, but suffered in silence.
Also note there is a massive difference between having depression (which is a mental illness) and being depressed (which is just feeling sad).

 

[ushawk]

My train just hit someone at Farningham Road, near Bromley/Rochester. 2 on this line in last few days. Coincidence or significant?

Would be something the BTP may look at, but possibly a coincidence. Maybe seeing that someone else had jumped had put the idea in the other persons head - of course it may not be suicide.