Four people have taken their lives in a month and a total of seven since July at Bletchley train station, North of Milton Keynes.
The station that can be described as being small and quaint, with a lack of staff, has been targeted as a suicide spot due to its ease of access and tendency to be used as a pass-through station, with fast paced trains flying past on a regular basis.
It is one of the six railway stations serving Milton Keynes and seems to be the main ‘suicide spot’. Residents and the local council have urged that more prevention strategies are to be put into place.
Councillor leader, Peter Marland said: “We need to try and do more to make sure people have the right mental health support when they need it and that everything possible is done at stations and hotspots to help prevent such terrible incidents.”
Elaine Wales, Ward Councillor for Bletchley Park, the home of the code breakers, believes that routinely training rail staff to spot those who are in distress and to offer support would be a great help, as well as additional advertising around stations and more safety barriers for preventing access to the track.
She said: “ The train drivers, staff & passengers who witness the horrific incident share a memory that will stay with them for years, maybe a lifetime. It appears this is a growing national problem, but we need to do more locally to help.”
A member of the local public and a regular user of the station Warren Siggers, gave his thought of the recent travesties on going at the station.
He said: “More needs to be done, 100%. There needs to be more visible presence of station employees. In the early 80’s there was always staff on the platform seeing off the trains and checking the general safety of the public, but nowadays there is a literally just an individual in the ticket office.”
“It won’t totally stop it, but more barriers and CCTV, I know for a fact the cameras at the station are absolutely rubbish. The Council should think about moving them elsewhere else on the network, like bridges perhaps.”
Speaking on the subject of approaching someone who may look suspicious or depressed, Mr Siggers said: “Yes, if I saw someone blatantly upset I would either approach them or contact someone, but I think the thought of that puts people off nowadays because if you approach them then you may be seen to interfere or make the situation worse”.
Conservative spokesman, Allan Rankine said: “I will be contacting Iain Stewart, the local MP, and other stakeholders to discuss what tangible actions can be taken to help prevent these horrible events in the future.”
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