Resource Tag: RAILWAY SUICIDE

Background: Belgium is a country with a high suicide rate (19.1/100,000 in 2004), and railway suicide poses a substantial safety and public health problem. This problem was addressed by the Suicide Prevention Unit of Infrabel (Manager of the Belgian Railway Infrastructure), which collects relevant data and implements a prevention program. Aims: To present data on fatal and nonfatal […]

Background: Reviews of camera surveillance systems have demonstrated ambivalent behaviors among people who die by railway suicide. Yet, only few preventive measures have been evaluated. Aims: We aimed to review incidents of suicidal behavior at a Danish railway station, install preventive measures, and monitor subsequent calls to a telephone helpline and reports of suicidal incidences. […]

Background In the European Union, over 2000 suicides on railway premises were reported in 2020. Identifying individuals’ behavioral and location patterns just before they die or attempt to die by train suicide (ITS) is critical for effective prevention of suicides by train. We conducted a naturalistic study using a newly developed instrument for the assessment […]

Objective To assess the impact of the “Pause. Call. Be Heard” campaign on help-seeking and suicidal behaviors within rail environment in Victoria, Australia. Methods An anonymous online survey was conducted to measure noticeability of and engagement with the campaign and help-seeking intentions and behaviors among rail commuters at 10 rail stations. We generated descriptive statistics […]

Background: The impact of railway suicide in the United Kingdom is extensive, yet reasons for why people choose this method are not clearly understood and research into the examination of suicide notes in this area is limited. Aims: Our study aimed to utilize the unique access to suicide notes written by those who died by suicide on the […]

Background: Bystanders can play a key role in preventing railway suicides by taking direct action or by raising an alarm. Aims: The study investigated in this context: (1) the prevalence of preventative actions by bystanders; (2) the relationship, if any, between first-hand preventions by bystanders and the degree of ambiguity around the imminence of danger; and (3) the […]

Background: Increasing rail transportation requires appropriate railway suicide preventive measures. Aims: The investigation of trends in railway suicide during 2008–2018, a period in which preventive measures were taken by Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail. Methods: Generalized linear regression models for railway suicide were developed for the period 1970–2007 with general suicide rate, railway traffic intensity, and a combination of these […]

Purpose Rail level crossing removals to improve transport performance across metropolitan Melbourne (state of Victoria) resulted in new rail fencing and grade-separation of tracks from the surrounding environment at several sites. These design changes restricted pedestrian access to the rail tracks, which is a countermeasure known to prevent railway suicide in other settings. We examined […]

Background: To devise effective railway suicide countermeasures, it is necessary to identify stations where suicide is likely to occur. Aim: We explored the characteristics of stations where railway suicides have occurred and locations within the stations. Method: (Study 1) Using suicide data from between April 2014 and September 2019 provided by a major railway company in Japan, station-specific suicide was […]

Background: For every suicide on the British railway network, at least six potential attempts are interrupted by front-line staff or rail commuters. However, the factors that maximise or hinder the likelihood and effectiveness of such interventions are poorly understood. Aims: The aim of the current study was to shed light on the experience of intervening to prevent […]

Background: By communicating collision with a person as a reason for post-suicide railway delays, railway companies may involuntarily communicate to the public that colliding with a train is a suicide method. Aims: To compare the impact of the collision with a person delay announcement with an announcement about emergency services and one about collision with […]

Background: It is necessary to identify stations where suicide is likely to occur to  devise promising railway suicide countermeasures. Aim: We examined the relationship between station characteristics and the occurrence of suicide. Methods: (Study 1) Using suicide data between April 2014 and September 2019 provided by a major railway company in Japan, station-specific suicide was […]

Along with LivingWorks and the Centre for Suicide Prevention, Calgary Transit is providing suicide awareness and prevention. training. This program provides a way to identify and get help for someone at risk of suicide. Suicide safety starts here.

It can be difficult to select from available safety preventative measures, especially where there is limited evidence of effectiveness in different contexts. This paper describes application of a method to identify and evaluate wide-ranging preventative measures for rail suicide and trespass fatalities. Evidence from literature and industry sources was collated and reviewed in a two […]

This study presents and compares the prevalence and characteristics of rail-related suicide and other railway fatalities in Canada over 10 years, from 1999 to 2008. The methodology involved in-depth data analysis of records from provincial coroner and medical examiner’s investigations, railway company reports and Transportation Safety Board data. We identify physical risk factors and psychosocial descriptions […]

This review covers a central aspect in railway safety which is the prevention of suicides and trespassing accidents. The paper attempts to answer the following research question: ‘What measures are available to reduce railway suicide and trespass, and what is the evidence for their effectiveness?’ The review is based on 139 relevant publications, ranging from […]

stalling physical barriers at suicide hotspots is known as an effective strategy for suicide prevention. However, the effectiveness of physical barriers may be nullified by the substitution phenomenon, i.e., that restricting access to a particular place induces people at risk to look for a nearby place for suicide. Methods This study tests whether the substitution […]

Highlights Over 10 years, we identified 460 railway accidental deaths and 428 suicides in Canada. In accidents, impairment (illness, substance abuse, age) plays an important role. More intense warnings of approaching trains may help prevent accidental deaths. More than one-third of suicides occur on rails near psychiatric facilities. Improved training in psychiatric facilities near rails may […]

Suicides occur in metro systems worldwide and patterns vary in different urban transit networks. Aims: This study presents an in-depth analysis of 117 suicides in the Montreal Metro from 2000 to 2008 based on data obtained from coroners’ investigations. Method: Cluster analyses were performed to identify characteristics of groups of people who kill themselves in […]

Highlights The quality of rail suicide research varies greatly; better research is needed. Rail suicides resemble people who use other methods, but are younger. Rail suicides are rarely impulsive; people usually go to the rails to kill themselves. Media reports on railway suicides can increase their incidence. We need more research on why people choose […]

The majority of fatalities on the European Union (EU) railways are suicides, representing about 60% of all railway fatalities. The aim of this study was to compare time patterns of suicidal behaviour on railway tracks in Germany between two observation periods (1995Ð1998 and 2005Ð2008) in order to investigate their stability and value in railway suicide […]

Findings from 55 psychological autopsies of decedents who perished on U.S. railroad rights-of-way between October 1, 2007, and September 30, 2010 are reported. Decedents studied exhibited considerable predisposing risk for suicide, with a high prevalence of severe mental disorders and substance abuse. In addition, a number of acute risk factors were commonly observed, notably suicide […]

Japan has experienced an increase in the number of suicides by persons diving in front of an oncoming train in the last several years. Some major railway operators in Japan have begun installing blue light-emitting-diode (LED) lamps on railway platforms and at railway crossings as a method of deterring suicides, which is less costly than […]