Stuck on a train due to suicide
Discussion
Sitting here on the train just outside Winchester as we have hit and killed someone. All very tragic but we've not moved for half an hour now and I'm getting bored.
One of the passengers gave me a funny look when in reply to someone saying "Do you think we'll have to reverse" I said "What, just to make sure"
One of the passengers gave me a funny look when in reply to someone saying "Do you think we'll have to reverse" I said "What, just to make sure"
merc_man said:
Sitting here on the train just outside Winchester as we have hit and killed someone. All very tragic but we've not moved for half an hour now and I'm getting bored.
One of the passengers gave me a funny look when in reply to someone saying "Do you think we'll have to reverse" I said "What, just to make sure"
murderer!One of the passengers gave me a funny look when in reply to someone saying "Do you think we'll have to reverse" I said "What, just to make sure"
Chris_w666 said:
Why does the train have to wait? Do they need confirmation the person is dead before letting the passengers go home?
Surely the last thing you need with a body spread around the tracks is a meat wagon full of angry commuters hanging around.
Doctor required to declare them dead.Surely the last thing you need with a body spread around the tracks is a meat wagon full of angry commuters hanging around.
If anything remotely dubious, Police will declare it a crime scene - which takes it out of the Railway's hands.
Train lines - there'll be a rail operating authority putting pressure on plod to get the line open asafp.
Roads and motorways - got a sleeping bag? Brunstrom's operating manual for maximising delays will have you stuck for hours and the Highways Agency or local authority won't bat an eyelid, maybe ask plod if they'd like a cuppa and take your time.
On a wider front this will probably develop into the usual turf war between glandists and pragmatists. I'm with the pragmatists: sweep up the mess, hose down the train and carry on down the line.
Roads and motorways - got a sleeping bag? Brunstrom's operating manual for maximising delays will have you stuck for hours and the Highways Agency or local authority won't bat an eyelid, maybe ask plod if they'd like a cuppa and take your time.
On a wider front this will probably develop into the usual turf war between glandists and pragmatists. I'm with the pragmatists: sweep up the mess, hose down the train and carry on down the line.
Nolar Dog said:
Interesting to see some people not as understanding of "suiciders" after the recent support over Toggs.
ah you see, that's the duality of the PH massive..No sympathy for the depressed they should cheer-the-f
k-up, unless caused by a snake with tits in that case you get all the help and support, unless you decide to top yourself in front of a train, thats just selfish because we get home late.Perhaps a flow chart is needed?
I'm curious to know how you know it is a suicide? Still lots and lots of trackmen out there on the rails, even at this time.
But if it is a suicide jobby then I totally understand your frustration
ETA, nice reply to the person asking the question, made me chuckle
But if it is a suicide jobby then I totally understand your frustration
ETA, nice reply to the person asking the question, made me chuckle
Edited by Ross1988 on Friday 7th August 18:44
Chris_w666 said:
Why does the train have to wait? Do they need confirmation the person is dead before letting the passengers go home?
Surely the last thing you need with a body spread around the tracks is a meat wagon full of angry commuters hanging around.
Maybe another driver required as the one currently on the train can't be in the best mental state Surely the last thing you need with a body spread around the tracks is a meat wagon full of angry commuters hanging around.
This happened to me once,about 10 years ago .
I was travelling back from London to Newton Abbot when we stopped around Dawlish for some time. I had a raging toothache ,and just as we started moving again an announcement came over the tannoy that we would be moving slowly past an obstruction and then resume normal speed .
I stuck my head out the window for some fresh air just as we totally unexpectedly passed the remains (literally - the corpse was incomplete) of a guy who had decided to end it all .No attempt to cover the body at all, and to say it was grisly was an understatement. The image of what I saw will never leave me,and It took quite some time for me to stop having flashbacks to it .
I was suitably horrified that a packed express train full of people had been allowed to pass such a scene while the body was still there ,let alone uncovered, that I phoned BR/Railtrack head office and spoke to somebody pretty senior who explained that the need to keep the line clear of stationary trains was paramount,but I felt it to be an inadequate explanation.
The local paper ran the story of the suicide the next day ("body parts were recovered from a 100 yard stretch of track") along with a story about the fact that the train had been allowed past the uncovered body.
The whole episode certainly shocked me - what effect would what I saw have had on a young child?I certainly would not want my daughter to be subject to such a sight ever.
I was travelling back from London to Newton Abbot when we stopped around Dawlish for some time. I had a raging toothache ,and just as we started moving again an announcement came over the tannoy that we would be moving slowly past an obstruction and then resume normal speed .
I stuck my head out the window for some fresh air just as we totally unexpectedly passed the remains (literally - the corpse was incomplete) of a guy who had decided to end it all .No attempt to cover the body at all, and to say it was grisly was an understatement. The image of what I saw will never leave me,and It took quite some time for me to stop having flashbacks to it .
I was suitably horrified that a packed express train full of people had been allowed to pass such a scene while the body was still there ,let alone uncovered, that I phoned BR/Railtrack head office and spoke to somebody pretty senior who explained that the need to keep the line clear of stationary trains was paramount,but I felt it to be an inadequate explanation.
The local paper ran the story of the suicide the next day ("body parts were recovered from a 100 yard stretch of track") along with a story about the fact that the train had been allowed past the uncovered body.
The whole episode certainly shocked me - what effect would what I saw have had on a young child?I certainly would not want my daughter to be subject to such a sight ever.
That's one of the reasons it takes so long to get a train moving again after hitting someone.
Usually several people have to get to the scene, which can often be quite remote. Evidence has to be preserved to determine if it was indeed suicide or something more sinister. Also, great pains are taken these days to ensure that once the line is re-opened for trains to start moving again, there is nothing visible to upset passengers. This may be as simple as ensuring any body parts are covered up. As a train can make a lot of mess of someone, it often takes quite a while to actually find all the bits.
Usually several people have to get to the scene, which can often be quite remote. Evidence has to be preserved to determine if it was indeed suicide or something more sinister. Also, great pains are taken these days to ensure that once the line is re-opened for trains to start moving again, there is nothing visible to upset passengers. This may be as simple as ensuring any body parts are covered up. As a train can make a lot of mess of someone, it often takes quite a while to actually find all the bits.
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