Rail fatality trends

[whole diary]

[jamestheredengine]

Quote from: TaplowGreen on Today at 06:49:13 am
I don't think it's a Berkshire thing

No and yes.  There are certainly places where people are hit by trains far more than in other places - communities in which seeking help and sorting things out is not seen as the first option, or even as an option.  And some of those are places between London and Reading.

There's surely a much simpler explanation - this part of the GW^▸ (Great Western) network runs through (or near) far more residents than the rest.

Not really. Dispersed population in Berkshire is nothing on actual cities like Bristol and Cardiff and Plymouth. Or even Newport.

[eightonedee]

Sorry James

The context is the railway between Reading and London - a considerable proportion (most of it between Paddington and Maidenhead) runs through almost completely built up areas, the first longish green gap being between Maidenhead and Twyford. That's about 40km running through the built up area of West London, Slough and Maidenhead and the various suburban areas between. That is also by far the longest built up area through which the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) runs.

The population of Berkshire is also hardly dispersed - of its 900,000 inhabitants, only 150,000 are in West Berkshire, which comprises over half the county.  Most are in the urban and suburban areas of the east, and the combined population of the built-up area of the Reading conurbation is over 315,000 (with more in adjoining local authority areas, especially Wokingham, than the borough. Urban Slough alone has over 160,000 inhabitants - considerably more than Newport. 

[GBM]

Cancellations to services between Newbury and Reading
Due to a person hit by a train between Reading and Newbury all lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 15:00 26/05.
Train services between Newbury and Reading may be cancelled or delayed

Freight 640E stopped inbound towards Reading.
Passenger 2K92 1156 Reading to Newbury stationary outside Newbury Racecourse for 90'odd minutes.

Thoughts involved again to all involved.

Also saw mention of another fatality in the (Portsmouth?) area earlier this morning.

[Bmblbzzz]

I’ve noticed a blue light has been installed at the east end of the down main platform at Tilehurst. No idea if it’s related though.

Yes, I did wonder about that.  If it’s part of a trial it’s difficult to prove that it’s prevented suicides of course, as it might be several years before an attempt at any given location is made.

Blue lighting is sometimes installed in public toilets to deter drug use with needles.  That has at least been proven to work.

<OT> I've heard this is no longer recommended. It was supposed to work by making it hard to detect veins against the background of skin, and the problem it led to was that addicts were still injecting but missing their veins and causing greater problems.

[NickB]

Delays tonight due to suicide on the way to Reading.

[grahame]

Delays tonight due to suicide on the way to Reading.

Except ... you are making an assumption.  Please don't.

[bobm]

Was there?   Seen reports of a failed freight train on the down relief and defective track on the down main but no one hit by a train.

[NickB]

Interesting.
“Delays due to a person hit by a train” was the narrative that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journeycheck were going with last night.

[Marlburian]

Delays tonight due to suicide on the way to Reading.

Except ... you are making an assumption.  Please don't.

We never seem to be told what the inquest made of a particular rail fatality. Time was when a journalist might attend the inquest and report what the verdict was, offering the article to appropriate local newspapers. Nowadays reporters seem to be stuck on their devices, venturing forth occasional to sample the menu at a new restaurant or pub. (Often it's "seriously good".) But national stats are reported, such as here

"Over the 2020/21 financial year, there were 253 suicides on the British rail network and 23 non-suicide fatalities. In the period of consideration, the financial year with the highest number of fatalities 2014/15, with a total of 286 suicide fatalities and 49 non-suicide fatalities."

See also Grahame's earlier post for a year-by-year table.

 

 

[ChrisB]

Local press regularly follow up on Coroners verdicts. It’s just that we never see the local press reports :-)