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How a 15 minute journey took 2 hours...

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37372

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24 Jul 2006
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Mexborough
What an evening I've just had, I've been stuck on a 153 for two hours due to a suicide.

At first my journey was running smoothly, it was the 19:27 Northern dervice from donny to Sheffield formed of a FNW 153 with very little legroom, not good for tall people like me. Anyway, we had stopped at Conisbrough and were heading to Mexborough where I was going to get off. There is a foot-crossing over the line about half a mile from Mexborough sation which many people use including myself, we were heading towards it and the driver sounded the 153 horn as normal and passed over the crossing.
All of a sudden there was an almighty BANG which made the little 'doodlebug' rocked side to side, ballast flew past the window for some reason and the wheels screeched and slid, everyone grabbed hold of their seats thinking we were going to de-rail.
The train then slopped abruplty followed by the guard running through to the driver with a very pale face.

Because it was a foot crossing, everyone was assuming that kids had put rocks or something like that on the rails as the sheer force of the collision felt like a large object we had gone over on the rails.
After a couple of minutes, the guard came back out and someone said to him 'Was it vandalism?' The guard then told us that we had hit someone and were going to be there some time. I was shocked because it had never happened to me before and the force the body hit the train and went 'one under' into the engine of the 153 just seemd unreal. He also said had never seen anything like it before apparently, he seemed more shaken tha the driver, probably because he had seen the remains pass underneath him in the back cab.

The driver told us we had to wait for a relief driver to come from Sheffield and take us forward which took almost TWO hours when it should have taken just over half an hour, he said it was like an episode of Keystone cops and it was ridiculous.
Time passed by slowly, people went into the loo for a fag, people were pacing around because of lack of leg room and the whole thing was generally very boring.

Later we found out that the reason we had not heard serious hornage or braked before the crossing is because the driver said the man who commited suicide was calmy waiting at the crossing gates waiting for the train to pass when all of a suden at the last moment he had run out and stood in front of the train, such a tragic loss of life:( and not the only one, a few weeks back someone just a few yards away had also suffered a particularly gory death when plunging from the local bypass into a scrapyard.

After being stuck on a 153 for ages just a few yards from mexborough station, it finally limped into Mexborough over two hours late, I was extremely glad to get off! For the record, the 153 was 153332...
 
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Tom B

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Ouch!

Couldn't they have let you off there and walk trackside to Mexborough?

Is the line still shut do you know?
 

37372

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Joined
24 Jul 2006
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587
Location
Mexborough
It's a shame, we were only a 5 min walk from the station but we weren't allowed off of the train which meant I was so close to home but stuck on a 153 instead:sad:
I remember when I went up the S&C in 2004 with 37372 and 408 and we stopped at Garsdale for two hours because a freight train hin front had hit someone but because we were in a station we were allowed off onto the platform and given free snacks from the trolley, some people were even stood on the line taking pics of 37372!
Yes the line did re-open last night around 10pm much to the relief of the other trains stuck behind mine...
 

AJP

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If your going to comit sucide why make others suffer like the driver! Im not encourageing sucide but why not jump of a cliff or something.
 
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HR2

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The reason you were not allowed off of the train is that once such a thing occurs it becomes an 'incident'. This means that all the relveant people involved from crew to passengers are potential witness's and generally if anyone saw anything they are required to attend coroners court.

Also HSE won't allow anyone trackside when such incidents occur until the remains have been removed and sanded over and all examination of the scene has taken place. This removes possible trauma effects to the public as well. The TOC's remain happy with this policy as then the only compensation they have to give is for late running if applicable.

I once saw an attempted suicide at Ravenscourt Park eastbound district. The guy dashed over the platform and leaped high. So high that he did not even touch the track but sailed straight over the parapet wall and disapeared downwards. Wether he survived the fall I know not.
 

bunnahabhain

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The only time passengers are likely to be evacuated from a train is if it's on fire and it cannot be contained, or there is a serious risk to health posed that is greater than the risk posed in detraining passengers and ensuring they are escorted in a safe, calm and competent manner back to a position of safety. In 99.9% of suicide situations it's always far better to keep passengers onboard the train.
 

66526

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332
37372... Fomr what you posted it sounded liek you were more concerned about you being 2 hours late than the welfare of the driver. What you have to remember is that this could be the end of his career. It is him, the guard and the reletives and fiends of the deceased that have suffered, not the fact that the train was 2 hours late.
 

37372

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Location
Mexborough
To be honest, everyone on the train was fed-up and angry about the fact it took the relief driver almost 2 hours to go the 15 or so miles from Sheffield to mexborough and not that someone had just jumped in front of the train.
The driver didn't seem to be suffering, one of the passengers asked him what he would do next and he said he would have to fill in a couple of forms and have a few days off work and would certainly be back before September and was also a similar situation for the guard.
 

66526

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I have met a driver who continued driving a few days after a fatality and then a year later he had to take 6 months of becausde of it. It doesnt just affect you at the time, there is adelayed reaction, same when you lose someone close to you. It takes years for it to sink in and of course in that time, people think you have 'got over it'. The human mind is very strange.
 

yorkie

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James 66526 said:
37372... Fomr what you posted it sounded liek you were more concerned about you being 2 hours late than the welfare of the driver. What you have to remember is that this could be the end of his career. It is him, the guard and the reletives and fiends of the deceased that have suffered, not the fact that the train was 2 hours late.
Please don't have a go. I didn't read it that way.
[EDIT]
HR2 said:
...The TOC's remain happy with this policy as then the only compensation they have to give is for late running if applicable.
A minor point, but in these circumstances they might do so, they don't actually have to.
 

Guinness

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James 66526 said:
37372... Fomr what you posted it sounded liek you were more concerned about you being 2 hours late than the welfare of the driver. What you have to remember is that this could be the end of his career. It is him, the guard and the reletives and fiends of the deceased that have suffered, not the fact that the train was 2 hours late.

Just because someone jumped in front of his train doesn't mean he automatically ends his career does it? Some people react differently when these things happen. Some take it well, some can't handle it.
 

16CSVT2700

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Chaz said:
Just because someone jumped in front of his train doesn't mean he automatically ends his career does it? Some people react differently when these things happen. Some take it well, some can't handle it.

Thats the entire point, there is the possibility of the driver and/or guard not being able to do his/her job due to the incident. Think it is known as Post-traumatic stress or something..
 

66526

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Exactly, Chaz, hence the COULD BE the end of his career...
[EDIT]
AJP said:
If your going to comit sucide why make others suffer like the driver! Im not encourageing sucide but why not jump of a cliff or something.
I think part of it is because you don't have ot do anything. You just step out in front of a train and it does the rest becaue it won't stop in time and the driver can't swerve etc. Second of all I think it's becasue they are noticed. If they took a drugs overdose hardly anyone would know about it but it makes more of an impact if they jump in front of a train. Second of all, I don't think they really care about other people, if thier life is so bad that they want to end it they will be in a pretty bad way so otehr peoples feeling unfortunately will nto come into it.
 

Coxster

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James 66526 said:
Second of all I think it's becasue they are noticed. If they took a drugs overdose hardly anyone would know about it but it makes more of an impact if they jump in front of a train.
People don't commit suicide to get noticed - they do it to end their life. The reason they use trains is that if it is travelling at any sort of speed you are guarenteed death. An OD wouldn't guarentee you die.
 

66526

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It seems that people on this forum have always got a bad thing to say against my postings constantly on this forum. Now I wonder why this is?... Very... strange.
 

Lewisham2221

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James 66526 said:
It seems that people on this forum have always got a bad thing to say against my postings constantly on this forum. Now I wonder why this is?... Very... strange.
Because you tend to disagree with everything anybody else posts...
 

WhiteVanMan

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Because you tend to disagree with everything anybody else posts...

Reading through James's posts I cant find any postings he has disagreed to......
Anyway, its not nice having a suicide happen in front of you - I have 2 in my almost 6 years on the railway.........
 

66526

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I think they have a problem with the fact that I have my own opinion and will put it across in a discussion which is the whole point of these forums. I am not like the people on here who seem to in the majority be spotters. Therefore I have my own opinions, deal with it people. Ir espect other peoples opinions, if they are valid.
 

Coxster

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I think they have a problem with the fact that I have my own opinion and will put it across in a discussion which is the whole point of these forums. I am not like the people on here who seem to in the majority be spotters. Therefore I have my own opinions, deal with it people. Ir espect other peoples opinions, if they are valid.
I simply gave my opinion and you are not accepting it because you don't agree with it so have kicked up a fuss.
 

66526

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Who says I was talking about your post? And BTW Coxster. Where in my post did I say that people commit suicide to get noticed? Nowhere. I said that part of the reason of them doing it in front of a train... Like I said, everyone is so quick to find fault with the post that they do not read it properly.
 

ChrisM

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Who says I was talking about your post? And BTW Coxster. Where in my post did I say that people commit suicide to get noticed? Nowhere. I said that part of the reason of them doing it in front of a train... Like I said, everyone is so quick to find fault with the post that they do not read it properly.
In the post that Coxster quoted and you went back later and edited. :D
 

158809

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just like to say that it would take longer than half hour for replacement crew as first of all they would have to be found. then briefed on the situation. they would then have to be driven as the line would of been closed as it was a crime scene. therefore no trains running

Im not having a go, just explaning the ins & outs
 

66526

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Need to treat it as suspicsious until known otherwise. Also, I'm not having a go either, never was in the first place...
 
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