A pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of preventing railway suicides by mid-track fencing, which restrict easy...

Suicides in the railway system is a serious health, societal, and transportation concern. Restriction of the access to suicide methods in the form of different physical barriers is a promising approach for suicide prevention.

Mid-track fencing, which is fencing placed in-between the high-speed and commuter train tracks, was installed at one out of seven stations along a train line outside of Stockholm in the years 2013/2014. The number of suicides at the intervention station was compared to six other stations used as controls, over a total period of 20 years (2002-2021).

Suicides at high-speed tracks occurring at stations was the major cause of death on the investigated railway line. Prior to the year 2014, the intervention and control stations displayed similar time trends in the number of suicides. After installation of the mid-track fencing in 2014, there was a 62.5% reduction in the rate of suicides occurring at the intervention station. Compared to the six other control stations, the intervention station displayed a significant reduction in the number of suicides during the years 2014-2021 (OR = 0.14, 95%CI 0.013-0.95). Suicides at the railway lines in-between stations were not increased post-intervention. However, nearby control stations showed a 162% increase in suicides after the intervention, suggesting the induction of transfer effects.

Mid-track fences restricting access to high-speed train tracks may have a large effect on reducing the number of railway suicides at intervention stations, but may also induce an increase in suicides at nearby stations without mid-track fences.

Partial physical barriers such as mid-track fencing is deemed to be relatively easy and cheap to install (as compared to full barriers; e.g., full height platform screen doors) and should be considered at all stations on railway lines that have high-speed trains passing by.