A Story of Intervention

In 2015, at Birmingham New Street train station, a crucial transport hub in the UK, a dramatic incident unfolded. Rachel, a 32-year-old train dispatcher, found herself at the center of an event she would never forget.

While going about her duties, Rachel noticed a young woman standing at the edge of one of the platforms. This woman wasn't just waiting for a train - she was standing perilously close to the platform's edge, seemingly lost in thought.

Rachel's instincts immediately kicked in. Something about the woman's demeanor struck her as deeply troubling. "There was no interaction with anyone. She was very still and her gaze was fixated," Rachel recalled. "Her focal point remained the same for a long time; she was staring at the tracks."

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Rachel knew she had to act. "I watched her for a moment and realized I had to make a call on whether I would go and speak to her. I didn’t want to make the situation worse," she said.

Approaching the woman, Rachel took measures to avoid startling her further. She turned down her radio and removed her high visibility jacket. "I didn’t know what I was going to say at the time, I just knew that I had to say something. Anything."

"Hello, my name’s Rachel, how are you?" Rachel said to the woman. But there was no response. The woman remained unresponsive, her eyes fixed on the tracks below.

Concerned that the woman might be contemplating self-harm, Rachel tried a different approach. "I noticed she had her makeup done really nicely, so I commented on it and told her I love watching YouTube tutorials," Rachel recounted. "It sounds silly, but I just wanted to make some kind of conversation."

Still receiving no response, Rachel persisted in her attempts to engage the woman, all the while signaling to her colleagues that something was wrong. Fortunately, one of her co-workers had already alerted the British Transport Police for assistance.

"There’s just you and me here," Rachel said eventually to the woman. "I just need you to know that you can trust me and that I’m only here to help you. I want to know that you’re alright."

In that moment, the woman broke down in tears. "I’m not okay," she admitted.

Panic set in, but Rachel remained calm, reassuring the woman that they could talk privately if needed. However, the woman was too distraught to consider it.

Between sobs, Rachel learned that the woman had lost her father and was struggling to cope. "She said she wasn’t dealing with it very well," Rachel recalled.

With patience and empathy, Rachel managed to coax the woman away from the edge of the platform, where the British Transport Police intervened. Rachel attempted to check on her later, but due to confidentiality, she couldn't get any further details.

Although Rachel never learned the woman's name, she believes her actions may have saved her life. "To think that you could potentially have saved someone’s life is hard to digest," Rachel reflected. "There’s always a fear there that you might make the situation worse, but you have to try to say something because there’s very little you could do to upset anyone more.

"People just want to know that you care. It can make such a difference. I think that’s so powerful."

Rachel now actively supports the 'Small Talk Saves Lives' campaign, launched by the rail industry in partnership with Samaritans and the British Transport Police. Last year alone, there were 237 suicides or suspected suicides on the rail network. The campaign emphasizes the importance of simple conversations in interrupting someone’s suicidal thoughts, illustrating how small actions can have profound impacts.