Hard to believe this many suicides by train…

"Two women who committed suicide by walking in front of a train last month have been identified as twin sisters.

Grace and Helen Mincer, 60, were hit and killed by an Amtrak train in Winter Park, Florida, at 11.43am on September 27…

There are 300 to 500 suicides by train every year in the U.S. according to the Federal Railroad Administration…"

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...-commit-suicide.html

When I lived in NJ, I took the train into NYC from the NJ Transit station in Edison. That station is on Amwreck's Northeast Corridor line, which is probably the country's busiest passenger rail corridor (Links NYC to DC.)

I'd be standing on the platform every morning, and the Metroliner (this was before Acela), would come screaming through the station at full speed (guessing something like 100 MPH). The design of the station (at least at that time) would have made it pretty easy to get down onto the tracks. I remember thinking if someone wanted to end it all, stepping in front of that train at the last moment would be instant and effective.

quote:

would be instant and effective

I'm not sure it's instant enough for me, thanks.

That IS an incredible number.

Jesus that is horrible. Not that I have designs on wanting to pull my ejection handle but if I did locomotive squashing would rank pretty far down on my list.

We are a smaller city and we have 3-5 a year. So I don't find that number surprising.

We get at least 1-2 train deaths a year around here. A 50-year old woman last year was ruled a suicide. A 52-year old man was "seriously injured" after he was hit downtown on Main Street 2 days ago. It's not unusual to see a car in front of me stopped on the tracks at a red traffic light.

Damn, that sounds like a lot, and a shitty way to go, your last second being the mushing of your skull or being cut in half or something equally horrific. I'm not going out like that.

Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones has a much better idea of how to go out.

The Japanese have an interesting solution to this. The family is responsible for the cost of clean up and any repairs to the train, track or equipment. The name of the individual is also made public and in a very shameful way.

A friend was going through conductor/engineer training as a new hire. He was told that it was an almost certainty that someone would kill themselves in front of his train at some point in his career. They brought in a recent graduate that had it happen to him.

An individual chose suicide by train yesterday, and they came through the office.

Rough way to go and the individual did not die right away, he expired at the hospital.

WilliamTheCoroner called me one night while he was coroner on scene of a 100 mph train suicide in Cleveland. I asked him how much of the deceased he expected to find. He told me that if he got enough to fill a grocery shopping bag he'd be lucky.

Depressing work, he said.

The smart ones pull a Highlander and lay their head/neck on the track. The others, well they leave quite a mess that is sure to traumatize anyone involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
The Japanese have an interesting solution to this. The family is responsible for the cost of clean up and any repairs to the train, track or equipment. The name of the individual is also made public and in a very shameful way.

That's a good idea.
I bet it cuts down on the number choosing this method.
And it's fair to the railroad.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
The Japanese have an interesting solution to this. The family is responsible for the cost of clean up and any repairs to the train, track or equipment. The name of the individual is also made public and in a very shameful way.

From the same culture that embraced Seppuku. I guess when you do it with a tanto, you make less mess.

When I was at Great Lakes in '66 we had a Marine walk onto the tracks in North Chicago and hold up his hand to stop the express to Chicago, it didn't go well for him.

Don't know if it was suicide or stupidity but he was dead on impact.

Growing up, my Dad imparted a lot of wisdom to me. One of his favorite quotes was "Trains always, always win." So far, I haven't seen that theory proven wrong.

I've handled a few suicide by train. Not real pretty. Some were a *SMUSH*, some get dragged a while. Some land up in pieces...

I've unfortunately had to talk to a few Conductors /Engineers. They told me that for some odd reason, there's usually eye contact between the conductor and the Smush-ee.

I feel sorry for the one driving the train.

Going back a few years, one of our RAF policemen, for reasons that were never discovered, climbed over the fencing just outside town on the main North-South mainline, ran down the embankment, and then was seen running along the track head-on into the path of the 'Flying Scotsman' passenger express train, at that point just hitting 125 mph.

My buddy, then a serving police officer, still refuses to talk about what he found.

The suicide left a wife and three kids, no form of insurance, no note, totally SFA, on Christmas Eve.

tac

Having worked in the industry, I'm surprised that number isn't higher. I've seen someone hit by a 150MPH train, it's not pretty. But I suppose it's effective.

However I can't imagine doing it with a train that's going less than 60MPH. Anything less than that and I feel like you're gonna feel it at least a little bit.

A friend of mine works for Amtrak and told me a story about one of his co-workers who was operating a 150MPH train and was coming around a bend and noticed a woman sitting on a rock. The woman then climbed down and ran in front of his train. Later on he found out it was his ex-gf that he had broken up with a week or two prior. She knew his schedule and waited until it was his train that was passing.

That number seems low to me, but it's amazing how many folks attempt suicide by train yet someone survive, usually in a mangled state. I'm sure if you added in attempted suicides it'd be much greater. I've worked two suicides already YTD on my territory.

Along with this is the number of vehicle/train incidents that happen on a daily basis. Two weeks ago it was an abandoned minivan left on the tracks, last week was the family (with dog) that attempted to beat the train to a crossing. As CPD SIG notes, the train always wins.

Almost every conductor and engineer that I know has hit a car, probably a third have been involved in a fatality. Very sad for someone just trying to do their job.

If I ever got to that point I can think of a whole lot of better ways to do the job.