I don't mean this with any disrespect but for the councillor to be pointing the finger at the railway industry for these incidents is very harsh. These are not accidents. With fences on the platforms to prevent access to the main lines a concerted effort is made by the individual who wishes to take their own life.
Instead of asking the train companies what they can do to prevent these happening maybe he should be asking himself and looking into why individuals of the Southall area get themselves into such a dark place mentally that they go to the station with the intention of taking their own life.
I know a number of councillors and they often come to the role just as people like you and me and many members here - taking an interest in and a little beyond. Some of them go out and take a look at things beyond their initial level of knowledge to be informed and help, having come into the role naive. Others come in with a party 'hat' and just act as they're told, or through some dogma that they've built over time. Some have carefully thought through what the job will mean, other look like deer caught in headlights (perhaps not a good analogy here!) when they start.
I take heart that Kamaljit Dhindsa is asking "why". I do hope he looks into the reasons that people bring themselves to the railway in order to take their own lives, as well as at how they do it, and whether extra measures would be effective or simply move the people to another way of achieving the same end. And I'm sure he'll learn in asking that there is a lot already done and studied in the endgame section by the rail industry to reduce numbers. I hope he discovers too why there's such a high number in certain areas who end up in that endgame, and is able to contribute in some way to a reduction. The first thing for him to do is learning by asking, and that's where he is now.
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