Good Thread this. Heres 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. Its 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.
Its 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. Its 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, Im 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. Its 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) its just that circumstances dictate that I must prioritise and put driver and passengers first and hope that its 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 youll 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. Were on the up fast, knockin along at line speed and someone goes under just after Esher. Driver throws it all in and she stops just shy of Hampton Court Jk. The nightmare begins. Nowhere it detrain passengers, cant get through the train at all and theres 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 theres 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 anyones toes. I though it might be useful to look at it through the eyes of a Guard.
Mindmeld