Railways: Suicide
(asked on 14th December 2015) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people took their own life on the rail network in each year since 2010.
The total number of suicides recorded as having taken place on National Rail in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
Total suicide or suspected suicide: GB | |||||
2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
National Rail | 208 | 249 | 245 | 277 | 293 |
Source: ORR
The Government is fully supportive of initiatives which the rail industry is taking, led by Network Rail, in liaison with the Samaritans and other organisations, to reduce the number of suicides on the network. The initiatives include measures to reduce the ease of access to platforms passed by fast trains, and to train staff to intervene to help people near the railway who may be in a distressed state.