Hundreds of people lose their lives every year on railroad tracks due to suicide. FRA recognizes that suicide is preventable and FRA has vital contributions to make to help prevent suicide.

Multifaceted Approach to Prevention

FRA works on an ongoing basis with the Volpe Center and other researchers, railroads, state and local governments, and other stakeholders to understand how best to prevent railroad suicide. A particular challenge is that issues contributing to railroad suicide risk are often local, requiring local perspectives and coordination to identify effective solutions. Stakeholders may contribute resources or knowledge to prevention efforts, as well as take actions that will result in fewer suicide casualties. FRA does the following:

• Conducts research to evaluate strategies to prevent suicide
• Develops and disseminates tools and resources
• Ensures current research and best practices are available and easy to understand

Data-informed Decision-making

In June 2011, FRA started to mandate the collection of suicide casualty data by the Nation’s railroads. Incident data and trends can be used by state and local governments when making decisions about how to allocate resources to address the issues that are of greatest concern to the public and the railroad industry. This data also is used by FRA and other stakeholders to monitor safety risks and countermeasure effectiveness in improving safety. Visit FRA’s Safety Data website for more information.

FRA has published a variety of reports about suicide data, including the complexities of collecting meaningful data, potential ways to improve trespasser intent determinations, and use of data to better understand the factors involved in trespassing incidents on the railroad system. Although more work is needed to improve the quality and utility of data related to railroad suicide, reports such as these have helped to form the foundation of FRA’s research program. Visit FRA’s eLibrary for reports related to suicide

Facilitate Collaboration

FRA facilitates collaboration with railroads, local governments, and other stakeholders to help evaluate and implement effective strategies to prevent railroad suicide. FRA also assists local governments to help make informed decisions about how to address suicide in their communities by providing data, research, tools, and expertise. 

One tool FRA and the Volpe Center provide is the Trespass & Suicide Prevention Toolkit (TSP Toolkit), which identifies strategies that can help prevent suicide and trespassing. As an interactive resource, the TSP Toolkit provides summaries of potential strategies that highlight the effectiveness of the tools, as indicated through research and experience. This resource can be updated as more is learned about how to address this complex issue.

In addition, FRA coordinates with other organizations and working groups such as the Federal Working Group for Suicide Prevention and Operation Lifesaver Inc (OLI) to  ensure information about emerging best practices is identified and shared. 

FRA and the Volpe Center host and facilitate the efforts of two working groups—the Global Railway Alliance for Suicide Prevention (GRASP) and Suicide Prevention for US Rail (SPUR)—that offer opportunities for stakeholders to share insights and learn from one another about railroad suicide prevention solutions. GRASP consists of representatives from international regulatory agencies, railroad industries, and research organizations with expertise in railroad trespassing and suicide prevention. SPUR consists of representatives from U.S. freight and commuter railroads. It focuses on knowledge- sharing and identifying how best practices can be funded and implemented. If you are interested in learning more about either organization or perhaps joining, please contact Scott Gabree at the Volpe Center.