BLM transport partner, Joanna Peters, comments on Network Rail’s joint campaign with the Samaritans to reduce deaths on the railway in an article published in Rail Professional magazine.
See the article below or click here to access the magazine.
Reducing suicides
Joanna Peters
Suicides cost the industry around £50m a year, but the human price is harder to measure. Joanna Peters explains how Network Rail’s joint campaign with the Samaritans aims to reduce the number of deliberate deaths on the railway
In 2009 there were a staggering 265 suicides on the railway, which comprised four per cent of all UK suicides that year. While nationally the number of suicides is falling year-on-year, the proportion that take place on railway lines or at stations is increasing. Although overall the number of rail-related suicides has remained broadly static since 2000, the latest figures from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) show an increase on 2008 figures of 256 to 265.
In light of these statistics, in January 2010, Network Rail announced a five-year partnership with the Samaritans for a £5m programme to try to cut the number of suicides on the UK railways. The aim of the programme is to reduce railway suicides by 20 per cent by 2015.
The joint national programme between the infrastructure owner and charity will put in place more effective and dedicated resources to tackle the problem of rail-related suicides. Ten thousand members of staff from Network Rail and train operating companies will receive bespoke training each year on how to spot and handle persons considered to be vulnerable, how best to intervene and how to deal with the impact of suicide on other members of staff. Among other initiatives, there will be a poster campaign at stations to highlight the problem. Studies have shown that erection of such posters for a Samaritan helpline service can serve to reduce suicide rates by up to a third over a three-year period. The campaign will also include a drive to promote awareness of the Samaritans’ services nationwide.
A key factor in helping to address the problem will be that 202 Samaritans branches in priority locations will be matched to specific stations to develop specialised suicide response teams. These branch-based teams will give support to staff and witnesses in the immediate aftermath of a suicide. The aim is to ensure a consistent approach and standardised best practice across those locations. Initially the programme will be piloted in high-risk areas.
Another area of concern to be addressed is the manner in which the media reports suicides, given the potential for ‘copycat’ suicides at the same location. It is known, for example, that providing too much information about a victim can cause others to identify with him or her. Rates of railway suicide are known to increase after an incident has been reported or fictionalised. In one incident in November 2009, a woman killed herself on a railway line at Kidderminster only three days after her father took his own life at that location. Similarly, some locations have become ‘hot spots’ for suicide attempts. One aim of the programme is to work with the media to ensure responsible reporting of incidents, to avoid repetition.
It is estimated that suicides have a current annual industry cost of £50m, of which some £15m alone is paid to train operators for delays caused. In addition, there is the cost of trauma caused to drivers, guards, other railway staff and those who are affected either by witnessing the death or being caught in the aftermath. Drivers, in particular, are prone to such trauma, with some never being able to return to work. It is hoped that early intervention and counselling provided by the Samaritans will result in lessening the after effects of an incident.
The aim of the programme is, therefore, to reduce these personal and financial costs to all involved in suicides. Is it hoped that a co-ordinated effort with the Samaritans will achieve the aim of reducing suicides and the overall impact, financial and emotional, of such incidents on all those involved.
This article is not a substitute for specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.