1,452 lives saved on the railway in Wales and the West in just five years

This World Mental Health Day (10 October 2024), Network Rail has announced a new milestone with its Rail Suicide Prevention Programme as almost 1,500 interventions have been made across Network Rail’s Wales and Western region.

Over the last year alone (2023-24), 330 interventions were made on the rail network in the Wales and Western region through the support of the partnership which has been delivered through Network Rail, Samaritans and British Transport Police. There were more than 27,000 interventions across Britain’s rail network as a whole. *

The partnership aims to provide specialist training for rail staff, and partners to raise public awareness about suicide prevention, the signs to look out for to see if someone needs help, and teaches them the best ways to approach vulnerable people and these can range from simply talking to them or calling for further professional assistance.

Louise McNally, Network Rail’s suicide prevention lead, said: “It’s a great achievement to see that over 27,000 potentially life-saving interventions have been made to help support and identify vulnerable people across the rail network who may be at risk of suicide.

“The Rail Suicide Prevention Programme helps us, as an entire industry, respond as effectively as we can to the many people that are presenting on the railway either in distress, in crisis, or struggling to cope. It also provides invaluable support to those members of the workforce who find themselves involved in some difficult incidents.”

Network Rail continues to work closely with the Samaritans to train thousands of frontline railway staff with the skills to identify vulnerable individuals and confidently intervene.

Dave Brown, Samaritans senior programme manager for rail, commented: “Our partnership with Network Rail has been running for over 14 years and the impact it has had on saving lives has been huge. By equipping rail staff with the knowledge and confidence to help vulnerable people in distress, we ensure lives are saved each year.”

To date, more than 30,000 rail employees and British Transport Police officers have been trained in suicide prevention techniques through the Samaritans’ ‘Managing Suicidal Contacts’ course. This training has enabled staff to recognise the signs of someone in distress and offer assistance in critical moments.

Craig Munday, a mobile operations manager in Network Rail’s Wales and Western region, knows the importance of looking out for others after stepping in to help someone in distress on the railway.

Craig said: “I was covering a shift in a signal box which has a level crossing and high viaduct. In the afternoon I became aware of a middle-aged lady walking quite purposefully along the track, past the box towards the viaduct. 

“I had no trains signalled so was able to briefly leave the box to engage with her. I called out and caught up with her. She wouldn’t look at me, and I saw her expression was vacant and drained. She told me she intended to end it all. It was cold and she only wearing a cardigan. My first thoughts were to appeal to her immediate needs, to get her warm and safe. She was most insistent about walking further, but I gently coaxed her in the opposite direction when she started to cry. I kept the subject very much in the here and now, about being safe, warm, and having a cup of tea.

“Although I didn’t have the time to spend with her as I was working a signal box, I could see the British Transport Police walking to the level crossing and they took over from there. 

“That short conversation was enough to intervene and show her that someone cared. It’s so important that we look out for each other every day, as my experience showed me. It really does help to stop and make conversation, even if you only talk about the little things. It can save a life.”