Why don't people ever talk about trains?

[CFLoser]

One of my biggest suicidal plans are going to a train track, getting really messed up on some kind of drug (probably heroin to pass out and feel good), and then just getting run over.

There are train tracks close to my house and sometimes I can hear the train at night. It really could just be easy to sneak out one night and wait for the train.

Why don't people talk about this method? Are there big flaws I am not seeing?

 

[PeacefulTonic]

Most people try to avoid gruesome methods

 

[motel rooms]

One of my biggest suicidal plans are going to a train track, getting really messed up on some kind of drug (probably heroin to pass out and feel good), and then just getting run over.

You have to pass out in the right position or you might only lose a limb or two.

Why don't people talk about this method? Are there big flaws I am not seeing?

They talk about it. Do a search.

 

[in hell out soon]

Personally? Because it brings an innocent into it. The train driver ends up traumatised and maybe one day they end up here too.

That's just me though.

 

[dyingalone123]

Personally? Because it brings an innocent into it. The train driver ends up traumatised and maybe one day they end up here too.

That's just me though.

Absolutely fcking right. Think about the train driver and what he's gonna have to go through after seeing your dead body mangled up.

 

[Ta555]

Because it involves other people as others have pointed out. Also it's gruesome and frightening. It's like why don't people talk about drowning even though throwing yourself into a body of water with weights attached is the most foolproof method you can get? Because people are frightened of drowning.

 

[canna2]

There is a train megathread.
Use search function


Answer to op: Fear

 

[Account unknown]

Absolutely fcking right. Think about the train driver and what he's gonna have to go through after seeing your dead body mangled up.

Not just that… you've made them unknowingly be the one to kill you, not just see your dead body.

They're driving the train that ultimately killed you. That's a terrible guilt to burden someone else with.

 

[dyingalone123]

Not just that… you've made them unknowingly be the one to kill you, not just see your dead body.

They're driving the train that ultimately killed you. That's a terrible guilt to burden someone else with.

Of course, that's why I said 'what they'll go through' implying they'll be traumatized.

 

[Circles]

People who are against this method need to realize something. As long as society makes it harder to kill yourself at home or in a private setting somewhere then suicides are going to be pushed out in the open in public for all to see. This is the result. I literally have no sympathy for the train workers or passengers as long as society keeps this up and makes suicide hard as fuck to do. How would you feel to be so fucking desperate to consider killing yourself by train? Well I have in my darkest moments. Don't give me that 'it's selfish' hogwash. What if that's one of the only options to die? What then?

 

[Pluto]

I have had train driver friends. They are trained (at least in Melbourne) to cover their eyes when a suicide is about to happen. They will still hear the sounds (crunching of bones, etc.) but this avoids any PTSD flashback issues. They are paid well in part because of the suicides, and given time off and counselling when it happens.

My friend said that when it happened to him, it was more of a pain in the ass than anything. No doubt other drivers would be more affected. The worst issue that train drivers face is kids throwing rocks through the windscreen and in some cases causing serious eye injuries.

But anyway, if it sounds like I am supportive of this method, no I am not.

A CTB during the peak hour can throw tens of thousands of commuters into chaos, as well as exposing members of the public (including children) to the aftermath of the bloody, butchered remains. Commuters using trains rather than cars are contributing to cleaner air and sustainability by using a more efficient mode of transport, and do not deserve to be screwed over or traumatised.

Reminds me of how whenever there was a protest in Melbourne, the protesters would always make a point of blocking the trams, but never motorists. Even more ironic if they were purporting to support some sort of leftist or environmental cause.

 

[motel rooms]

I literally have no sympathy for the train workers or passengers as long as society keeps this up and makes suicide hard as fuck to do.

Train drivers don't write & pass laws... I consider all innocent traumatized people my fellow sufferers...

They are trained (at least in Melbourne) to cover their eyes when a suicide is about to happen. They will still hear the sounds (crunching of bones, etc.) but this avoids any PTSD flashback issues.

@Pluto You can't be serious... You can have flashbacks of the sound of crunching of bones... You don't have to see the person's mangled corpse to feel guilty that you were driving the train that killed them / get PTSD.

 

[Circles]

Train drivers don't write & pass laws... I consider all innocent traumatized people my fellow sufferers...


@Pluto You can't be serious...

Doesn't matter if it's one of your only methods to escape a lifetime of suffering. If that means adding a little more suffering in a fucked up world that doesn't allow you the ability to have a safe method then I don't care. I guess the real issue here is how much any of us cares about our fellow humans who btw vote for the shitty politicians who pass these laws. Also they sure wouldn't give a shit about me or you being suicidal so why should one care about them? Whatever.

 

[Pluto]

I'm not telling anyone what to do, just stating facts and opinions. But if you want further explanation:

1) I am here because of assholes
2) I do not like assholes
3) I do not want to die an asshole

As much as I can dream of voluntary euthanasia and disagree with the current laws, I can't imagine any scenario in which CTB by train is the only option.

PS: since no one has mentioned it, touching overhead wires is another way to CTB without involving the train itself. It's still pretty gruesome as the body pretty much spontaneously catches fire.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Ugh. I really don't wanna know how long my intestines can stretch. Saw one in London, haunts me to this day.. ironically a south african kid, survived, lost both legs. Nah, od is the way for me....

 

[Circles]

As much as I can dream of voluntary euthanasia and disagree with the current laws, I can't imagine any scenario in which CTB by train is the only option.

Well let's see here. If one can't have access to N, SN, a gun. Jumping is just as riskier as this method and even more frightening. Hanging is hard as fuck and anyone saying otherwise hasn't tried it. Heroin involves trying to get in touch with shady drug dealers and risk going to jail. Etc. Also if one has chronic pain that is debilitating and can't even do some of the harder methods all one has to do is literally put your head on the tracks and wait for the train to behead you. Granted I'm sure it's not as simple as that but whatever. There's risks with every method and no matter what y'all say train suicides are still going to happen regardless so.

 

[motel rooms]

Doesn't matter if it's one of your only methods to escape a lifetime of suffering. If that means adding a little more suffering in a fucked up world that doesn't allow you the ability to have a safe method then I don't care. I guess the real issue here is how much any of us cares about our fellow humans who btw vote for the shitty politicians who pass these laws. Also they sure wouldn't give a shit about me or you being suicidal so why should one care about them? Whatever.

You're free not to feel sympathy for train drivers...

I'm not telling anyone what to do, just stating facts and opinions. But if you want further explanation:

1) I am here because of assholes
2) I do not like assholes
3) I do not want to die an asshole

@Pluto I didn't imply you were a bad person. It's just a little naive to think that people can avoid developing PTSD simply by keeping their eyes shut while something horrifying is happening...

 

[Pluto]

@Pluto I didn't imply you were a bad person. It's just a little naive to think that people can avoid developing PTSD simply by keeping their eyes shut while something horrifying is happening...

Whoops, I missed your post entirely.

I think the strategy I mentioned is part of training because it reduces visual PTSD flashbacks. My phrasing in saying it avoids PTSD was way off. A quick search has uncovered plenty of articles suggesting that the PTSD is very real for some.

'I'm the instrument, not the perpetrator': How train drivers deal with death

Around one person dies on Victoria's rail lines every week, with most long-term train drivers experiencing at least one fatality in their career.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Someone123]

One of my biggest suicidal plans are going to a train track, getting really messed up on some kind of drug (probably heroin to pass out and feel good), and then just getting run over.

There are train tracks close to my house and sometimes I can hear the train at night. It really could just be easy to sneak out one night and wait for the train.

Why don't people talk about this method? Are there big flaws I am not seeing?

There are a lot of posts about trains- this is a common method. The most helpful posts were from a person who used to drive trains for a pretty long time- 5 to 7 years I think. In this time he hit 13 people who were attempting suicide and 9 of them died- one of the ones who died was in the hospital for 4 days before they died. I am pretty sure he said that one of the survivors had lost their legs but not their life. So it's an option but you can see why it is nowhere near as common as hanging, for instance- the downside risk is pretty bad- for the four survivors all kinds of damage must have been done. It depends on how desperate a person is to stop their pain.

 

[nameeater]

ctb via train is quite a horrific way to go imo. it's very gruesome (if you fail you'll probably be disfigured and/or disabled) plus every single person on that train will be traumatised for the rest of their lives. not to mention, the driver will also most likely be fired despite it not being their fault. overall, to me personally it's not exactly ideal and i would prefer more peaceful methods.

 

[TVtrays]

There's one experience why I couldn't do the train method.

A few years back, I was on an Amtrak train leaving Penn station and I heard a thud followed by a couple chunks hitting the window. We stopped and heard over the intercom that we had hit somebody. Two workers, one of them appearing to be a young new hire and the other appearing to be his supervisor walked by to investigate. When they came back in, the look on the young guy's face when he came back in is something I'll never forget. Pale and expressionless. I know that look, as somebody who's witnessed violent murder and I just felt for him.
We later found out from a reporter that there were two fatalities. Turns out they were railroad workers in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I've considered jumping in front of a subway train before but looking back on this, I just couldn't put somebody through that.

 

[Someone123]

ctb via train is quite a horrific way to go imo. it's very gruesome (if you fail you'll probably be disfigured and/or disabled) plus every single person on that train will be traumatised for the rest of their lives. not to mention, the driver will also most likely be fired despite it not being their fault. overall, to me personally it's not exactly ideal and i would prefer more peaceful methods.

The drivers are not fired for this- in fact they are warned that this will happen once or twice a year on average and it is the main reaosn why people don't keep these jobs for very long in most cases- maybe a couple of years, according to an article I read a long time ago. Some drivers can handle it better- they know it's going to happen when they take the job and they are mentally more prepared for it.

One of my biggest suicidal plans are going to a train track, getting really messed up on some kind of drug (probably heroin to pass out and feel good), and then just getting run over.

There are train tracks close to my house and sometimes I can hear the train at night. It really could just be easy to sneak out one night and wait for the train.

Why don't people talk about this method? Are there big flaws I am not seeing?

If you are not doing this by a train station this is better than doing this at a train station because you can get your body into the best possible position without having to rush. I don't know how much this increase the odds to ctb, and how much the odds are of survivinbg with limbs amputated, paralyzed, brain damaed, and/or disfigured- it's those terrible downsides that scare people off.

 

[Belljar]

I heard you can be caught and dragged under the train while still alive.

 

[Circles]

It's weird how some of you are saying that it will traumatize the driver and/or clean up crew, passengers, etc. But guess what every suicide is traumatic in some way. Someone is going to find your body possibly decomposing and that alone can be traumatic. Don't act all morally superior caring about strangers who don't know you nor care about you. You can never kill yourself without traumatizing other people. The only difference here is that you're involving others in your suicide attempt which could be considered 'selfish' but everything we do in life is selfish so god forbid. Suicide is considered selfish by normal people no matter what the method.

 

[Someone123]

It's weird how some of you are saying that it will traumatize the driver and/or clean up crew, passengers, etc. But guess what every suicide is traumatic in some way. Someone is going to find your body possibly decomposing and that alone can be traumatic. Don't act all morally superior caring about strangers who don't know you nor care about you. You can never kill yourself without traumatizing other people. The only difference here is that you're involving others in your suicide attempt which could be considered 'selfish' but everything we do in life is selfish so god forbid. Suicide is considered selfish by normal people no matter what the method.

When a train driver signs up for the job they know this is a part of it, that they will have to deal with this once or twice a year. About 1/3 of drivers, according to one study, suffer a severe psychological reaction to a train suicide. About 5% quit once they have one. I think that if a person needs to be relieved of pain in this world, though, they need to do what they can- if people want to stop train sujcides they should stop trying to prevent suicide by any means possible.

 

[Account unknown]

It's weird how some of you are saying that it will traumatize the driver and/or clean up crew, passengers, etc. But guess what every suicide is traumatic in some way. Someone is going to find your body possibly decomposing and that alone can be traumatic. Don't act all morally superior caring about strangers who don't know you nor care about you. You can never kill yourself without traumatizing other people. The only difference here is that you're involving others in your suicide attempt which could be considered 'selfish' but everything we do in life is selfish so god forbid. Suicide is considered selfish by normal people no matter what the method.

most methods aren't as violent or graphic as this, they don't involve as many people as this who could potentially be traumatised and most importantly they don't require getting another person to unwittingly kill you either.

I agree someone could argue any method is selfish for example drinking N in a hotel room and having a staff member find your body could also be traumatising for the person that finds you but there's still a big difference between that and a train suicide.

Most people accept their death is going to cause trauma to someone in some way but they want to minimise it as much as possible… catching the train so to speak is the complete opposite of that

 

[Circles]

most methods aren't as violent or graphic as this, they don't involve as many people as this who could potentially be traumatised and most importantly they don't require getting another person to unwittingly kill you either.

I agree someone could argue any method is selfish for example drinking N in a hotel room and having a staff member find your body could also be traumatising for the person that finds you but there's still a big difference between that and a train suicide.

Most people accept their death is going to cause trauma to someone in some way but they want to minimise it as much as possible… catching the train so to speak is the complete opposite of that

So you consider jumping and guns not as violent or graphic? Um. Granted I can agree with you some but bottom line is you all can get off your moral high horse because it's not going to stop people from considering this method because some people are so desperate to die they'll consider anything. They are so focused and tunnel visioned on dying that caring about what others think is pointless.

 

[Someone123]

most methods aren't as violent or graphic as this, they don't involve as many people as this who could potentially be traumatised and most importantly they don't require getting another person to unwittingly kill you either.

I agree someone could argue any method is selfish for example drinking N in a hotel room and having a staff member find your body could also be traumatising for the person that finds you but there's still a big difference between that and a train suicide.

Most people accept their death is going to cause trauma to someone in some way but they want to minimise it as much as possible… catching the train so to speak is the complete opposite of that

Every train driver who signs up this this job receives training about this and they know this will happen on the job- it is an occupational hazard that will happen. I think that each case is different- it depends how much pain the pain is in who wants to ctb and on what their other options are- we can't be peerfect in ctb methods, society always tries hardest to prevent to easier wasy leavinug the touger ways. The trauma is more on society as a whole for hurting the person enough to want to ctb and for always trying to take away methods.

 

[Account unknown]

So you consider jumping and guns not as violent or graphic? Um. Granted I can agree with you some but bottom line is you all can get off your moral high horse because it's not going to stop people from considering this method because some people are so desperate to die they'll consider anything. They are so focused and tunnel visioned on dying that caring about what others think is pointless.

No of course they are but again, they aren't directly involving someone else in the act of suicide.

I'm not judging you and I wouldn't judge anyone who decided to go out this way, I've thought about it myself and in the end it might be one of my last options for a quick death with how hard it is to access other methods where I am but I'm just being honest about how traumatising it can be.

 

[Someone123]

Following is an account of a train suicide attempt survivor:

I jumped in front of a train and survived.

"After being in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years with serious suicide attempts, I decided to take it a step further with a train. It happened in the night in the mid-late eighties."

"I had several injuries, including a severed arm (that was successfully reattached), my back was broken in three places, my ribs were broken, my lungs had collapsed and I was fully conscious when I was rescued from beneath the train. I was conscious until I reached the hospital and they started surgery, and consequently was in a coma for over two weeks. I wasn't expected to survive. It was a shock when I came to, and I later endured years of physio, psychiatric assessment, counseling and I had to learn to walk again. "

The downside risks of this method are worse than most methods- maybe worse than all other methods- that's the scary part about this method.