The driver's view: 'The memory of a rail suicide never leaves you'

[Llanigraham]

What a brilliant video!!
Thank you.

 

[methethpropbut]

2. Of course, the emotional side of seeing such an incident has been discussed in depth; but there are some incidents from around the world where the driver sustains a physical injury which can be life changing (not sure if this is common in the UK?)- for example, I remembering hearing a Loco Engineer in America who broke his back after colliding with a vehicle- Least of all, an end to his train driving career.

Ufton Nervet comes to mind..

 

[Dr_Paul]

The closest I've been a railway suicide was when one of our neighbours jumped in front of a train at our local station. My dad was returning from the station after work and he passed him as he walked in a determined way towards the station; my dad was puzzled as the neighbour uncharacteristically ignored his greeting. Later we heard that he'd jumped in front of a train and was dead. Although we were not there when it happened, one thing that did cross our minds was the impact on the railway staff: the driver of the train, the level crossing keeper, the booking clerk (it was a one-man station even back then), and also the impact on passengers at the station and people waiting at the crossing (how many times had I stood there waiting for the gates to open). Fifty or more years later, his death remains a mystery; nobody knew why he had done it, his widow and two children never said anything about it at the time or afterwards.

 

[BestWestern]

Sadly a rather unpleasant incident has occured this afternoon, involving an injury to the Driver. As ever, a distressing affair.

 

[tsr]

The post above by BestWestern unfortunately reminds me of a few serious incidents with gangway-equipped stock on the Southern network.

Again, be aware this is gruesome. But it may give another idea of how traumatic this stuff is.

One particular incident involved a train travelling at about 90mph which struck someone near a certain station where few trains call (I will not give the precise location).

The top of the person's body went through the "fly door" of the front cab's gangway connection, through the metal and glass door to the cab, through the cab door and (it was later found) partially penetrated into the saloon.

The driver was hit by various items and his entire kit bag was covered in stuff.

The train stopped on a curved section of the track where the cab floor was slightly inclined to the right hand side. He opened his door on the left hand side, at what you might call the higher side of the floor. The bodily fluids in the cab were sufficient to pour out of this door.

He then had to make his way to a signal post telephone to call the signaller (his radio was completely disabled) and at this point another train approached, heading the opposite way. The driver came round the corner and saw the absolutely awful state of his colleague's cab and made an emergency call. He said that he thought the train had "hit about ten people".

The train cab had to be deep cleaned twice and rebuilt.

 

[Class323201]

It was a summers morning nothing out of the ordinary my driver was one I have had many times before. I gave two on the bell and we started what we thought was going to be a long slog till our PNB. We were only 4 minutes into our journey when I heard the high tone horn sound and feel the brake go in. I looked out of the cab window and saw something I couldn't quite make out in the front bogie. My driver rang me and said they "will do the call" at the moment it suddenly dawned on me that we were involved in a fatality and this was confirmed as we ground to a halt and I could see the deceased.
My immediate thoughts were my driver and passengers and yes your training really does kick in. I remember thinking as I walked through the train to my driver that I may need to take the lead and hit the red GSM-R button to get the line blocked and summon help. As I entered the drivers cab my driver was just ending the emergency call and from what I saw at the rear and now the front of the train my driver kept it together long enough to block the line and summon help.
I then went to look after my passengers explaining that we had been involved in an incident and awaiting the emergency services. I liased with control, kept the driver in the loop, gave lead to the ambulance crew who were first on scene and then handed over to the MOM. My mobile phone was red hot with the amount of calls and information coming through, all the passengers were calm but had lots of questions about connections and how long we would be here for and all of this you seem to juggle as well as looking after the welfare of your driver. 2 hours went by before we were relieved as the location we were in was poorly accessible.
I don't think I'll ever forget the experience and when working trains my heart now skips a beat when we have heavy breaking and with all of that behind me each and every day my thoughts have been for my driver.

 

[D365]

Can't begin to comprehend the scale of these. Not a driver, but passing through a station I recently observed a man standing at the edge of a platform, adjacent to a fast where several suicides have taken place in recent times. Wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, surely no reason to be there. Reported it to station staff at the next station, but I still think about whether he was actually considering.

 

[Crossover]

Some interesting and thought-provoking accounts there - thanks to all who have shared.

I can only speak from a passenger perspective and fortunately have only been on one service involved in a near-miss which was earlier this year on the West of England near Axminster. We had left the station and were accelerating as we approached Chard LC. I felt a sudden brake application and the engines reverting from full power to idle with a shudder and I had an inkling as to what was coming. I was sat on the inside curve next to a window and could see the signal up ahead was green, so after coming to a juddering halt and the guard making an announcement saying that we had come across a red signal which was being investigated, I had a feeling something was really wrong! It wasn't too long before the guard walked through and told us we'd had a near-miss at a foot crossing and the driver was going to investigate - soon after I could see hi-viz ahead of where I was sat (still on a curve) which turned out to the local constabulary, as was evident as one walked past my window on the 6ft opposite. We were held for around 45 minutes before we moved off again, with the same crew (the guard told us the driver was fit to continue) - as we headed off over the level crossing ahead, there must have been at least half a dozen police cars/vans blocking the crossing (barriers still down).

That incident thankfully ended positively, with the guard saying the person involved was now in the care of the police and ambulance and that all involved were OK physically (read into that what you will...)

 

[gazthomas]

This is such a desperately sad situation, for the driver and for the person injured and/or killed. I have full respect for drivers and other railway staff that have to deal with this.

 

[Cowley]

This is such a desperately sad situation, for the driver and for the person injured and/or killed. I have full respect for drivers and other railway staff that have to deal with this.

The one today is absolutely shocking and it’s hard comprehend having to deal with it. I’d not thought of the scenario that tsr had talked about before.
Something like that would be imprinted on your mind forever and all you’ve done is turn up and do your job as normal.

 

[221129]

Sadly a rather unpleasant incident has occured this afternoon, involving an injury to the Driver. As ever, a distressing affair.

And as ever the travelling public are as sympathetic as usual... *sigh*

 

[SPADTrap]

The major event yesterday is of unimaginable horror. As bad as it can get. My thoughts are truly with the driver and those involved. I feel it has to be said but I'm not sure what else to say.

 

[83G/84D]

The one today is absolutely shocking and it’s hard comprehend having to deal with it. I’d not thought of the scenario that tsr had talked about before.
Something like that would be imprinted on your mind forever and all you’ve done is turn up and do your job as normal.

The major event yesterday is of unimaginable horror. As bad as it can get. My thoughts are truly with the driver and those involved. I feel it has to be said but I'm not sure what else to say.

Terrible event for the driver to experience and for response staff to respond to. Hope the driver makes a full recovery from the ordeal.

 

[Swanny200]

Being the son who has a parent who suffers from P.T.S.D, situations like this change everyones lives, I went to a talk about how P.T.S.D affects people a few years ago and there was a Scotrail driver who had 2 in the space of 6 months, the second one was a well loved chap who had found out he had a terminal illness and when he stood in front of that train, he wanted to end his pain quickly. It didn't just affect the driver, but the station staff of the deceased who saw him regularly before he got ill. The driver concerned contemplated giving up the job because of lack of sleep and flashbacks but he said it did get easier for him, although it is different for every person. Anything can trigger flashbacks, even smells can sometimes set my father off, this time of year means he has to sit with noise cancelling headphones in order to block out fireworks after a certain time of night.

There are so many people in the railway community who will be affected, the driver is the one who gets the worst view of it all though and I did hear a story of a driver who was DOO and while dealing with everything else, had to deal with a couple of angry commuters demanding why they had stopped and that they would be late home etc... I'm sorry, let the driver get on with his bloody job before shouting at the poor guy or better still have a guard on board who can take a bit of pressure off the poor bloke who has probably witnessed one of the worst sights in his entire life.

 

[A0wen]

The major event yesterday is of unimaginable horror. As bad as it can get. My thoughts are truly with the driver and those involved. I feel it has to be said but I'm not sure what else to say.

Without wanting a particularly graphic response, can I ask what happened yesterday that made it so much worse than any other such incident? Not wishing to breach forum rules or anything like that, but I would have thought any such incident was particularly traumatic for those involved?

 

[Domh245]

Without wanting a particularly graphic response, can I ask what happened yesterday that made it so much worse than any other such incident? Not wishing to breach forum rules or anything like that, but I would have thought any such incident was particularly traumatic for those involved?

From what I've read, the body went through the windscreen and the driver was injured in the process (to the extent that a DSD alarm was triggered to alert the signaller)

 

[A0wen]

From what I've read, the body went through the windscreen and the driver was injured in the process (to the extent that a DSD alarm was triggered to alert the signaller)

Thanks - understand now why people are commenting about this being worse than some others.

 

[Mathew S]

Can I ask, what generally happens if a driver - or other staff for that matter - doesn't feel that they're able to return to duty after an incident? Particularly with something as horrific as what happened yesterday.
I know it used to be the case that the railway looked after their own, family like, and would make sure there was always a job for them. But in these days of privatisation and profit I wondered if that still happens?

 

[BestWestern]

Can I ask, what generally happens if a driver - or other staff for that matter - doesn't feel that they're able to return to duty after an incident? Particularly with something as horrific as what happened yesterday.
I know it used to be the case that the railway looked after their own, family like, and would make sure there was always a job for them. But in these days of privatisation and profit I wondered if that still happens?

Unable to return at all? In that case, generally some other role would be found where possible. I know of a Driver who returned to his previous role after suffering a fatality early on in his driving career and deciding it wasn't for him. If no appropriate role was available, or if the issues were sufficiently disturbing that the person couldn't work at all, then a payout and retirement on medical grounds would be the best option, I would imagine.

 

[rd749249]

Today, 1P18 was involved in a fatal incident at Shenfield. As I was nearby, I got the emergency stop call and did the needful. Even as someone not involved in the incident, it affects you just listening to the call. I cannot begin to think what the poor driver has gone through today, let alone all those connected to the deceased.

 

[gazthomas]

And as ever the travelling public are as sympathetic as usual... *sigh*

As I said in an earlier post, these situations are so desperately sad for families and train crew alike.

I remember standing on Finsbury Park railway station platforms one week day some 20 years ago when there was a suicide. I was shocked to hear more than one passenger say "why couldn't they have done this at the weekend". They often say that suicide is a selfish act, but I think saying this is even more so.

 

[221129]

As I said in an earlier post, these situations are so desperately sad for families and train crew alike.

I remember standing on Finsbury Park railway station platforms one week day some 20 years ago when there was a suicide. I was shocked to hear more than one passenger say "why couldn't they have done this at the weekend". They often say that suicide is a selfish act, but I think saying this is even more so.

I'm not sure if you are trying to slate what I said, but I stand by it.

 

[gazthomas]

I'm not sure if you are trying to slate what I said, but I stand by it.

I certainly wasn't - it would be inappropriate to do so.

 

[221129]

I certainly wasn't - it would be inappropriate to do so.

My apologies then. For the record my shift yesterday included getting a barrage of abuse at one of the nearby stations whilst a colleague of mine was injured who I had only seen and spoken to about an hour prior to the incident.

 

[Mathew S]

Unable to return at all? In that case, generally some other role would be found where possible. I know of a Driver who returned to his previous role after suffering a fatality early on in his driving career and deciding it wasn't for him. If no appropriate role was available, or if the issues were sufficiently disturbing that the person couldn't work at all, then a payout and retirement on medical grounds would be the best option, I would imagine.

Thanks @BestWestern, that was indeed what I was thinking. I can't imagine how hard it must be - for some - to go back to doing the day job when you've been involved in an incident of that nature.

 

[gazthomas]

My apologies then. For the record my shift yesterday included getting a barrage of abuse at one of the nearby stations whilst a colleague of mine was injured who I had only seen and spoken to about an hour prior to the incident.

That's really terrible 221129 - not fair on you or your colleagues.

Please re-read what I posted originally, I was saying how selfish passengers can be.

 

[221129]

That's really terrible 221129 - not fair on you or your colleagues.

Please re-read what I posted originally, I was saying how selfish passengers can be.

Ah I see what you meant now, I originally read it as saying my comment was selfish.

 

[gazthomas]

Ah I see what you meant now, I originally read it as saying my comment was selfish.

Certainly not, I fully respect you.

In 2012 I made a donation to the Samaritans and was rewarded with a cab ride of an EMT HST. 3 months later my wife died suddenly of cancer, and 10 months after that a member of my team jumped in front of a train in Radlett. I can't begin to understand what makes people feel so desperate to do that and likewise I can full appreciate the impact this has on families, drivers and other train crew. My colleague was from southern Ireland and I went to his funeral. I couldn't believe the strength of his wife and young children.

 

[mpthomson]

Along with jumping off something high, I believe it is the most ‘effective’ way. Too many things go ‘wrong’ with most other methods.

Firearms and medication (but only for medical/veterinary/dental people who know the doses and drugs correctly) are also up there.

 

[mpthomson]

These accounts should be told in schools to deter trespass/suicide on the railways. Make people think about the people left when the are gone.

Deterring trespass is one thing, but deterring suicide is a whole different matter. Very few people are thinking rationally (though some do, if they are terminally ill) before committing suicide and the effect on others doesn't even enter their head. So these accounts would make little difference in that respect.