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The suicides must stop.

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Juniper Driver

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Week off the track I had under their instructions.Drove as soon as possible as I thought it was best to get back on the "horse" :?

Remember the first stop at Vauxhall I was very apprehensive but was okay after that.
 

Respite

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I've not had a jumper yet as a driver, come very close. I've had the train infront hit one & twice the train behind has copped a fatality. So I guess it's only a matter of time. Then again most of my routes are not known for suicides.
I did almost mow about nine members of the pway down though at 90mph, idiot lookout was working with the gang & I was one of the few flyers through the station that day.

When I was doing the mobile ops manager job with notwork fail I did go out to a lot of fatalities. Helping the police/coroner locate "parts" & ensure the line was kept safe. I just found a way to switch off to the sights to be honest, I always was more upset about run over animals rather than people, as they didnt know any better. Also during that 5 year stint as a MOM not once did notwork fail ask if we needed any help to deal with what we saw, I know its not like actually hitting them yourself but it's still not pleasant. But then again that's NR allover for you.£££££££!
 

AlexS

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Birches Bridge at Bilbrook station seems to have become a bit of a hotspot fairly recently, several fatalities there last year - sadly all of them I believe people lying down in front of Central Trains stoppers :(
 

Respite

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Birches Bridge at Bilbrook station seems to have become a bit of a hotspot fairly recently, several fatalities there last year - sadly all of them I believe people lying down in front of Central Trains stoppers :(

Like I said, the one behind me! ;)
 
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i was once riding on a tube on district line when a one under happened to the train i was on. driver was shaken badly had to swap drivers.
 

Juniper Driver

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I almost got a pway bloke at Earley when I was on a slam door doing about 70mph about a month after my fatality although at one time the pway were well dodgy.

Ironically there was an "incident" tonight at Epsom although thank christ it wasn't a fatality.
 

TheSlash

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Marwell Zoo
I agree with Ghostcav, animals are more disturbing than people :?
We are always finding dead Badgers underneath the juice rail and they create quite a stink. It's not very nice when the body starts tripping the juice or upsetting passing drivers, so we have to go and remove them.
I've seen Deer have a few close calls, normally in mating season when they chase each other around, often straight across the track!
 

Nym

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Livesotock can be expensive if that hits a train though, since some livestock weighs as much as some trains, and is signifivcantly more valuble ;)
 

jacknottm

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Nottingham
I Was at Nuneaton on friday night and witnessed one about 100 ft in front of me, Not a pretty sight at all and i was extremely shaken as well as all my mates,

If i was that shaken, i dread to think what the driver was like

Jack
 

greysleuth

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18 Dec 2007
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Not been involved as a driver, I'm not one, but was a cop for 30+ years. Suicide is always sad, I dealt with many different methods over the years some successful some not. It is a selfish state of mind but not necessarily a selfish act.
Some accidents can be just as traumatic, often with judgment impaired by drink and or drugs, one of the worst I dealt with was a bloke walking home through a tunnel from the pub hit by a class 40 and steel load headed for near Wrexham. Took forever to find all of him on the walls and roof of the tunnel full of steam age soot. Drivers are people they will react in different ways, some calm some not so calm. Many drivers do feel in someway responsible, they are professionals and care about the job they do, safety is part of the job, they try to avoid injuring people even if the people concerned are determined to injure themselves.
As for "shrines" they can be really annoying, there is one pops up twice a year once on his birthday and again on the anniversary of his sad demise near my house dedicated to
a loving fun filled lad taken from his family much too soon
the reality is full of drink and drugs this multi convicted piece of dross from the shallow end of the gene pool stole a BMW car belonging to a cancer specialist doctor, burgled three OAPs bungalows terrifying two of the occupants who woke up during his raid, drove off at high speed hit five parked cars and a tree and killed himself. Now that is bl**dy selfish in my opinion.
Sorry if I have drifted off thread a little. My sympathy lies with the driver and technical staff who have to clean up.
Hope it helps
Be lucky
David
 

TheSlash

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Hilsea was a surfer. They reckon he was surfing the down Cardiff, fell off and went under the Up Waterloo. His partner in crime was picked up at a nearby hospital
 

Metroland

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We are always finding dead Badgers underneath the juice rail and they create quite a stink. It's not very nice when the body starts tripping the juice or upsetting passing drivers, so we have to go and remove them.

That sounds like a good reason to get rid of the third rail and the cheapskate southern and put the proper electrification system in overhead :)
 

Mojo

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The Evening Standard suggests that a third of all rail suicides in the country take place between Slough & Paddington, and it seems many of them are Asian women who are oppressed and psychologically bullied or forced into marriage. However very little is done to stop this nasty practice of oppressing women & other groups in imported British cultures for the fear of upsetting others.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...d+soaring+toll+of+railway+suicides/article.do
 

thefab444

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That sounds like a good reason to get rid of the third rail and the cheapskate southern and put the proper electrification system in overhead :)

What, so every night we can have "WIRES DOWN AT WIMBO - NOTHING MOVING - RT ON THE BASH WIV DA COMPUTERS" or "WIRES DOWN AT BCU - EVERYTHING 2 HRS LATE + MY LOCATION FOR PHOTS HAS BEEN F**KED UP - LV ON THE BASH"?

I'll keep the 3rd rail thank you.
 

Nym

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Or put in overhead lines that work! Or better yet, lets just go back to steam :)

SMMU (Steam Mechanical Multiple Unit)

Or better yet, why did OCGT or CCGT never take off, would it be because it's associated with the APT?
 

kestrel

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The Evening Standard suggests that a third of all rail suicides in the country take place between Slough & Paddington, and it seems many of them are Asian women who are oppressed and psychologically bullied or forced into marriage. However very little is done to stop this nasty practice of oppressing women & other groups in imported British cultures for the fear of upsetting others.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...d+soaring+toll+of+railway+suicides/article.do

Its also due to the influx of minority groups from eastern europe where walking across railways lines is more the norm' this is a problem currently being addressed through workgroups;)
 

Nym

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well, they should know what 3rd rail is like if they've been here a while, it started just after the chunnel back then... Ohhh thats cheeky ;)
 

mindmeld

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Good Thread this. Here’s my 5p's worth if I may....

Just to set the scene...

I've been a Guard working the SWT mainline for just over 11 years. It’s a real 'people' job. No day is ever the same even if the routes are. The thing about being a Guard is that it really helps if you can get to understand the way the passengers are feeling, get under their skin (so to speak). Read the body language, the facial expression and the immediate spatial circumstances. This lets you act accordingly and quickly to restore balance if it becomes necessary. I've always been quite/very empathic and this has been a real boon throughout my railway career. The empathy with others often cuts through the crap, gets to the point and lets me suss an unspoken problem and act before hassle even begins.

It’s just the way I am. The flip side of this is that I tend to react badly to actual violence and physical aggression. (In 'Work Mode' I strive to resolve most (but not all!) on-train issues before they happen). I can't even watch it on the television as I find it to unsettling. Can't even watch Rugby!! (Not to mention that poor Arsenal bloke last week)

During my time as a Guard whilst I've not been involved in an actual suicide incident, I have been the train in front once and the train behind three times. (The most recent one was at Winchester on the down that was particularly gruesome. My train was allowed past before they had finished cleaning the platform. Some of my passengers looked even though they had been asked to avert there eyes....why do they do that?!!!!!......and I had to deal with the consequences of this). The time in front I was in the rear cab going down to Basing in the early evening rush just after we'd got the Desiro's (sardines so no tickets until after Surb) I actually saw the bloke standing on the end of the platform at Wimbledon as we went through as line speed. He went under the down Pompey/Alton (?) following three minutes behind us. It’s reasonable to assume that at some point between now and when I retire it will happen to my train.

The point I'm making is that in these days when there's so much demanded from the Guard, I don't know and worry whether I will have the capacity to deal with this sort of crisis. Without overtly verging into arrogance, I’m reasonably sure that I can handle most hoo haa that can happen on a train (eleven years and 'you wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen' seems to bare this out). This is the one thing that might get the better of me. In that moment when I need to be strong to help my driver, to make sure my passengers are informed and aware of the situation, I might not be able to cope due to 'empathic' susceptibility and an overpowering aversion to the horror of what has happened.

People here and many drivers I know have spoken about being able to 'switch off' and deal with it in factual impersonal terms. I can't do this. My empathic side won't let me. It’s a double edged sword. Couldn't do the job without the benefit it offers but always at the mercy of total emotional overload from this one particular threat.

Truth be told, I don't think about it much (but when I do, as I write, I get butterflies and the ‘dread’ feeling) but I'd rather not be reminded that it has happened in any specific place. We've had a lot more in the past few years than we used to get when I started. There are memorials/flowers/cuddly toys at Chertsey / Portchester on the routes I work that are permanent reminders of those who have gone. As a railwayman I find this off-putting and unhelpful. I wish that Notwork Fail wouldn't allow it. As a fellow human it fills me with a certain morbid sadness each time I stop there.

I know that this may read to you as a rather selfish view of the subject matter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not without sympathy or understanding for those who have jumped, (quite the opposite in fact) it’s just that circumstances dictate that I must prioritise and put driver and passengers first and hope that it’s ok. Its only natural and right that you should think of the Driver first in these circumstances but please don't forget to think of the Guard who will be multitasking for the duration and dealing with who knows what attitudes and requirements of good and bad passengers alike, unable to take any time for himself because duty demands and the ever rising expectations of passengers dictate otherwise.

Try this scenario and you’ll see what I mean. 12 cars, Monday mornings Rush and in poring rain, upwards of 800 people in my train, full, standing and sardines from the last stop at Woking. We’re on the up fast, knockin’ along at line speed and someone goes under just after Esher. Driver throw’s it all in and she stops just shy of Hampton Court Jk. The nightmare begins. Nowhere it detrain passengers, can’t get through the train at all and there’s no answer on the cab to cab from my Driver. He needs me. I know the bloke and I know that he needs me. And there’s already some imbecile looking at his watch sayin’ “why have we stopped?” See What I mean???

Sorry If I've rambled too much. Don't mean to tread on anyone’s toes. I though it might be useful to look at it through the eyes of a Guard.

Mindmeld
 

O L Leigh

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Hi Mindmeld,

Welcome to the madness. ;)

I don't think your views are selfish. I appreciate that others may consider them to be but, having been in the situation myself and also been caught behind someone else's, something that folk don't necessarily understand is that the first thing you have to deal with is your own reaction and feelings. I won't say that you will "switch off", but equally you won't know just how you'll react until it happens to you. You might just surprise yourself.

My own experience with the punters has generally been fairly good. Admittedly when I had my fatal I somehow managed to stop with all 8 cars in a platform, but I've found that explaining the situation usually pacifies them to a greater or lesser degree. I hate this "...incident involving a person on the line" nonsense that we sometimes get, so I will announce it as a fatality and try not to give any false expectations of a swift resolution and resumption of their journey. Sure some came up to the cab and wanted to know more, so I gave them more details about the procedures involved in getting the trains moving again and they went away mollified, if not actually happy.

O L Leigh
 
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