Suicide prevention train platforms

Newer train lines in Japan have suicide prevention platforms. 5-foot walls span the entire platform, with doors that only open when the train has safely stopped at the station. Jumping in front of a moving train is one of the most common suicide methods in Japan—it was, at least, until people started spreading information on how to gas themselves at home.

Comments

[Dragonfang18]

Couldnt they just stick their head out, and instant decapitation?

[Jarrett]

It looks like the check-in counter at an airport. I hope these don't make people hate trains....

[William]

What is wrong with this situation????

[johnx]

I always thought those were to prevent people from getting accidentally pushed onto the tracks by the huge crowds during rush hour...

[vagrant]

Hey is that the つくば　(tuskuba) express?) That tripped me out as well the first time I saw it in a picture, as I never used that train myself. I think it's been a few years and still haven't seen walls/doors blocking other trains on the metro.

If people want to die, well...don't fuck it up for the rest of us, but I do like if it helps kids to be safe. Children are just crazy.

[kiboro]

We've got them on the Jubilee Underground line in London as well. Ours go the full height of the platform though so no climbing over the top.

[ninjagin]

They're not everywhere, though. I only saw them at about half of the stations I came through. I've also noticed that hotel windows are similarly pegged to prevent jumping. Altogether, safer's probably better.

[Pallavicini]

Airport monorails often have doors set into glass walls on the platform that only open when the train doors open, and I always figured there must be a reason why they didn't do this for subways - but then I rode the subway in Hong Kong, and they actually have this setup exactly. It seems like an obvious improvement, knowing that subway deaths do occur with some frequency (which is not surprising, given how close to the edge of the platform city dwellers tend to calmly stand - what is surprising is how little press coverage these gruesome deaths receive, especially considering how a little public awareness of the danger might encourage people to be more careful). I actually heard a rumor that the new 2nd Ave subway line in NYC might use doors like this when (if?) it’s ever finished, which would have the added benefit of allowing the platforms to be air conditioned.

[Calton Bolick]

Oh, come ON, these are NOT anti-suicide barriers. They're ordinary safety barriers! They simply replace the traditional platform agent that just about every other train platform in Tokyo has. You know, the white gloved employees with their wireless mics, signaling to the trains that you see on every platform.

[Tokyo Counseling Services]

I would like to suggest that as many Japanese people have very high reading skills in English that any articles dealing with mental health issues in Japan could usefully provide contact details for hotlines and support services for people who are depressed and feeling suicidal.

Some useful telephone numbers and links for residents of Tokyo and Japan who speak Japanese and/or English and are feeling depressed or suicidal and need to get in touch with a mental health professional qualified in Japan:

Inochi no Denwa (Lifeline Telephone Service):
Japan: 0120-738-556
Tokyo: 3264 4343

AMDA International Medical Information Center:
http://amda-imic.com/

Tokyo Counseling Services:
http://tokyocounseling.com

http://tokyocounseling.com/english/
http://tokyocounseling.com/jp/

http://www.counselingjapan.com