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Nice Thoughts From Commuters: Samaritans donation appeal

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pitdiver

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AS can be seen this was posted on a St Albans FB Group. It is self explanatory.

Sarah Evans shared a link.
Yesterday at 7:31 PM
This post was put on the St Albans fb site by a commuter impacted by last nights sad incident. I thought you’d like me to share it on this site too...

Calling all Thameslink commuters. Let’s try and make something good out of something terrible.

I’m sure many of you, like me, were delayed last night owing to the tragic incident at St. Albans station yesterday afternoon. Whilst being delayed in this way seems frustrating in the moment, it pales into insignificance when compared to the loss suffered by the friends and family of the person concerned. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to all of those grieving.

We’re calling on St Albans commuters to donate the proceeds of their “delay repay” compensation for last night to the Samaritans who already have a presence on the Thameslink line.

You can use the just giving link below, created by Danny Clare of the St Albans Commuter & Passenger Action Group.

Many 100s of commuters were delayed last night, many for over an hour which means there will be thousands of pounds of “delay repay” claimable which we can use for this good cause and have real impact. (This can be claimed here: https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/…/journey-pro…/delay-repay)

One of the greatest issues with mental health is that it can still be seen as taboo to talk about it. Let’s help ensure that our friends and neighbours in St Albans (and the surrounding area) know there is always someone to talk to. It’s OK not to be OK.
 
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Railguy1

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How will you know its suicide or not until after the coroner's inquest? Delay Repay is payable after a delay. Doesn't matter what the reason is.

TfL do not compensate for delays beyond their control. I would have assumed train operating companies work under similar rules.
 

_toommm_

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TfL do not compensate for delays beyond their control. I would have assumed train operating companies work under similar rules.

Most TOCs now operate a delay repay scheme meaning they'll pay out for a delay regardless of the reason, whereas a limited number of TOCs e.g. GWR only pay out if it's inside the railway's control, though I believe this is due to change in the next franchise
 

yorkie

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TfL do not compensate for delays beyond their control. I would have assumed train operating companies work under similar rules.
Delay Repay applies regardless of the reason(s) for the delay.
 

tgrb

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This is a great idea, like anyone I get frustrated when delayed but some people do not give a moment to reflect on what caused the delay and sometimes get unnecessarily angry and take this out on railway staff which is not acceptable.

Money needs to be invested by NR, BTP and the TOCs for sure to prevent this kind of incident, be it education, infrastructure improvements or people on the ground - but people like the Samaritans certainly help and hopefully prevent people considering this kind of action - maybe there should be an option to donate your delay compensation directly to the Samaritans or group of charities that can help the people who might sadly contribute towards future delays?
 
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The Greater Anglia delay repay claim process online includes the option to donate the money from a successful claim directly to the Samaritans.

Do other TOC's include this option as part of their claim process?
 

tgrb

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The Greater Anglia delay repay claim process online includes the option to donate the money from a successful claim directly to the Samaritans.

This is great, I hope more TOCs take this on board and follow suite if they don’t already
 

_toommm_

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This is great, I hope more TOCs take this on board and follow suite if they don’t already

Back when LNER was VTEC, there was a couple of back-to-back suicides on the ECML. One of the Twitter persons was saying it's an idea they're advocating, and one they're trying to get VTEC to do.
 

DanTrain

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The Greater Anglia delay repay claim process online includes the option to donate the money from a successful claim directly to the Samaritans.

Do other TOC's include this option as part of their claim process?
EMT promote donations to Mind charity as one of the payment options which is nice as well :)
 

baz962

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AS can be seen this was posted on a St Albans FB Group. It is self explanatory.

Sarah Evans shared a link.
Yesterday at 7:31 PM
This post was put on the St Albans fb site by a commuter impacted by last nights sad incident. I thought you’d like me to share it on this site too...

Calling all Thameslink commuters. Let’s try and make something good out of something terrible.

I’m sure many of you, like me, were delayed last night owing to the tragic incident at St. Albans station yesterday afternoon. Whilst being delayed in this way seems frustrating in the moment, it pales into insignificance when compared to the loss suffered by the friends and family of the person concerned. I would like to offer my deepest condolences to all of those grieving.

We’re calling on St Albans commuters to donate the proceeds of their “delay repay” compensation for last night to the Samaritans who already have a presence on the Thameslink line.

You can use the just giving link below, created by Danny Clare of the St Albans Commuter & Passenger Action Group.

Many 100s of commuters were delayed last night, many for over an hour which means there will be thousands of pounds of “delay repay” claimable which we can use for this good cause and have real impact. (This can be claimed here: https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/…/journey-pro…/delay-repay)

One of the greatest issues with mental health is that it can still be seen as taboo to talk about it. Let’s help ensure that our friends and neighbours in St Albans (and the surrounding area) know there is always someone to talk to. It’s OK not to be OK.

Great post mate . I , as many on here know am a trainee driver , and I was on my way home when this happened . We got held just outside St Albans and then put back wrong direction back to Radlett. I personally feel the same as many that I have nothing to gripe about , especially as their is a family and friend's grieving . Also not to forget the poor driver and staff other's , I saw them carrying the body bag. I was sitting with a Southern off duty conductor and a youngish girl , maybe around twenty year's old. She kept on and on about moaning about the toc's , I had to bite my tongue , but I politely reminded her that some people now have lost someone , and that a driver might be affected. She kept on regardless. I wasn't going to claim delay repay as for one thing , my delay pales in comparison and secondly I don't like claiming on a priv rate anyway. I shall however claim specially to donate it, as it is a fantastic idea.
 

radamfi

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How does the UK compare to other developed countries with significant passenger railways in terms of disruption caused by suicides? We hear a lot about how the UK is poor for mental health provision, but is it significantly better elsewhere?
 

pitdiver

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Great post mate . I , as many on here know am a trainee driver , and I was on my way home when this happened . We got held just outside St Albans and then put back wrong direction back to Radlett. I personally feel the same as many that I have nothing to gripe about , especially as their is a family and friend's grieving . Also not to forget the poor driver and staff other's , I saw them carrying the body bag. I was sitting with a Southern off duty conductor and a youngish girl , maybe around twenty year's old. She kept on and on about moaning about the toc's , I had to bite my tongue , but I politely reminded her that some people now have lost someone , and that a driver might be affected. She kept on regardless. I wasn't going to claim delay repay as for one thing , my delay pales in comparison and secondly I don't like claiming on a priv rate anyway. I shall however claim specially to donate it, as it is a fantastic idea.
Baz I claimed delay repay on a Priv Rate ticket. My wife and I were 55 mins late arriving at Fort William back in May. Got 50% of the priv fare I paid.
 

Bald Rick

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How does the UK compare to other developed countries with significant passenger railways in terms of disruption caused by suicides? We hear a lot about how the UK is poor for mental health provision, but is it significantly better elsewhere?

It’s much the same on other systems.
 

jamesst

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This is a great idea, like anyone I get frustrated when delayed but some people do not give a moment to reflect on what caused the delay and sometimes get unnecessarily angry and take this out on railway staff which is not acceptable.


Money needs to be invested by NR, BTP and the TOCs for sure to prevent this kind of incident, be it education, infrastructure improvements or people on the ground - but people like the Samaritans certainly help and hopefully prevent people considering this kind of action - maybe there should be an option to donate your delay compensation directly to the Samaritans or group of charities that can help the people who might sadly contribute towards future delays?

Sadly it's an Incident that will never be wholy prevented, if someone is set on doing it they will.

Trying to help people by providing Samaritan's numbers as done at many locations, higher fences etc is a great idea but sadly won't prevent all incidents.
 
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The Greater Anglia delay repay claim process online includes the option to donate the money from a successful claim directly to the Samaritans.

Do other TOC's include this option as part of their claim process?

West Midlands Railway also has the option to donate your Delay Repay to charity, though off the top of my head I can't remember which.
 

175mph

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How does the UK compare to other developed countries with significant passenger railways in terms of disruption caused by suicides? We hear a lot about how the UK is poor for mental health provision, but is it significantly better elsewhere?
I remember reading somewhere that in Japan, the family of the dead person killed on the railway line has to pay a fine on their behalf.
 

jhy44

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It's a lovely thought, and we at Samaritans really do need as much support as possible at the moment as our service is under more demand than ever. Donations make it possible for Samaritans to exist; so thank you.

What we also need, is new recruits. If anyone is looking for something to do to give back to society, and finds themselves with a few spare hours per week, please do consider joining as a volunteer.

The commitment is just 12 hours per month, usually as three 4-hour shifts (depending on your branch) fit around your schedule.
You'll be fully trained and supported by an incredible support & development network, as well as the branch and national team.

Just give us a google to find your local branch's number, and ask when their next Information Session is, and come along for a cup of coffee, biscuits, and a talk about if Samaritans is for you :)
 

Iron Girder

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Sadly it's an Incident that will never be wholy prevented, if someone is set on doing it they will.

Trying to help people by providing Samaritan's numbers as done at many locations, higher fences etc is a great idea but sadly won't prevent all incidents.
Nothing will prevent all incidents, but that doesn't mean we should not be trying to do everything we can to minimise the risks, on the railways or elsewhere. Some areas of Canada are implementing a "zero suicides" strategy, aimed at getting interventions in early enough that it doesn't come down to stopping people stepping under trains - we need to be doing similar.

A lot of the work I do is in the area of suicide prevention, and I am continually dismayed at how little priority is put on dealing with the issue until it becomes critical. That has to stop - once it get to the station platform level, it's more down to luck than anything else, and that shouldn't be the case.
 

Iron Girder

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I remember reading somewhere that in Japan, the family of the dead person killed on the railway line has to pay a fine on their behalf.
Tragically, there still exists in society a very punitive and negative attitude towards suicide. It sounds as if Japan is still a very long way behind the curve.
 

175mph

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Tragically, there still exists in society a very punitive and negative attitude towards suicide. It sounds as if Japan is still a very long way behind the curve.
I still admire them in many other ways, but I suppose it goes to show they aren't always a beacon of excellence.
 
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