15,000 rail staff trained by Samaritans in suicide prevention
Around 1 in 6 rail staff is now trained to prevent people taking their lives on the railway, as part of the suicide prevention partnership between Samaritans, Network Rail, British Transport Police (BTP) and the wider rail industry. Potentially life-saving interventions are increasing at the same time.
Between April 2016 and the end of March this year, 1,593* interventions were made across Britain’s rail network by staff, British Transport Police, local police and the public, an increase of 40 percent on the previous year.
In the same period, suicides and suspected suicides on the rail network dropped from 253 to 237**, showing a decline in rail suicides for the second year in a row. This is a fall of 18 percent in two years and 2016/17 represents the lowest yearly figure since 2010.
Good effort.