The Washington Post addresses the recent spat of suicides on the tracks at Metro stations this year (8 so far) with an excellent article on the affect it has on the train operators. They talk about Amtrak and freight engineers as well, and mention people who walk on tracks and drive around gates, but the focus is on suicides.
The Washington Metro is trying to figure out how to prevent some of these, and I suppose this article is part of that plan by at least making someone consider they are not just doing this to themselves.
One thing about the article I have a question about. It says that some systems push their operators to finish their shifts, while most relieve the crews immediately, offering counseling and extensive time off. I can’t imagine someone being forced back to work right after the incident. Voluntarily I can see. Pushing it, no way.
There was one like that within the last week on the Norfolk Southern’s Reading Line in Emmaus, Lehigh Co., PA, near here. I believe that the officials are waiting for the results of toxicology tests and the like before making a definitive ruling, but some of the commenters on a local newspaper’s article on it seemed to be pretty sure that the woman intended to commit suicide. Certainly if a person was mobile enough to get to and on the tracks, one would think they would be capable of moving off if they wanted to, esp. when they heard the noise of the train and its horn.
I agree that the crews are the ‘unseen and silent’ victims as well, and maybe more so - they’re still alive and likely still have many years to live with and re-live it. The psychology of a suicide is aberrant, to say the least - so they are either not thinking or don’t care about the effect that their actions will have on their surviving families or the crews or the bystanders or the EMS, police, firemen, maintenance crews, etc. that are left to deal with the remains and the results.
Unfortunately, long-time Trains author Dr. Phillip Hastings is deceased - he was a psychiat
I think the whole issue should be about the impact on the crew of the train involved. You simply cannot stop a person who wishes to commit suicide by train any more than you can keep people off high bridges. My concern is that railfans who understand how to watch trains safely will be negatively impacted. I don’t want to be thrown into the sick puppy catagory just because I am trackside watching a train.
“The Washington Post” and “Excellent Article” in one sentence? That is a true conundrum!
We had a kid hit by a BNSF train, out here in Montana, a couple of weeks ago. He wasn’t being minded by his “extended family” and was killed. Suprisingly, the Montana media was most concerned with the after-effects on the train crew, who did nothing wrong. I was surprised. Good for them!
My neighbor is an Amtrak engineer. He told me he hit about 70 pronghorn antelope, eastbound on the Empire Builder, at 79 m.p.h track-speed. I didn’t see that reported and he got no counseling or sympathy. That would have bothered me. I hope someone finished off the wounded animals and salvaged some meat. Antelope is “Yum”, but…
If they looked anything like the picture of the horse hit by a freight locomotive that was posted on Al Krug’s site, you’d have had trouble gathering up enough to make a patty.
We in the fire and EMS business don’t usually think of getting involved with such people unless our dispatchers tell us about a situation (ie, domestic fights) ahead of time. Most sick people just want us to help them.
Nonetheless, we lost a young EMT here in January when the patient suddenly left the room and came back with a gun.
You wouldn’t expect such activity in a post office, either, yet we have the phrase “going postal…”