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Suicide barriers for Tokyo trains

An preview of the new suicide barriers being added to several stations on Tokyo’s Yamanote Line:

Update: The Yomiuri Shinbun has an article:

Platforms at all 29 stations on the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo will have safety barriers installed by fiscal 2017 in an attempt to prevent people from falling onto rail tracks, East Japan Railway Co. announced Tuesday.

JR East will initially install the barriers, which open and close simultaneously with train doors, at Ebisu and Meguro stations during fiscal 2010.

Such barriers have previously been introduced on platforms at Tokyo Metro Co. and Tokyo metropolitan government-run Toei subway line stations, but it will be the first time they will be installed at JR stations–other than on Shinkansen platforms.

According to JR East, 168 accidents involving people falling onto tracks or being hit by trains–not including suicides–occurred at its stations between 2003 and 2007. Thirty-seven of these accidents were on the Yamanote Line.

20 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - June 4, 2008 at 7:35 am

Categories: Technology Tags: japan, trains

phauna

Is it Tameiki-Sanno where they have the fully walled off platforms with doors? Like floor to ceiling glass walls.

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

They have them in several places. I know for sure they have them at Yotsuya, among other places.

Jenn

This drawing makes it look like people could just step over the barriers… is that the case?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Charles_Nguyen Charles Nguyen

I’m sure it would still reduce suicides by trains since it would take more effort to climb over than just running straight.

I always thought why they didn’t have them in the first place. I guess they’d have difficulty stopping at the same spot every time (well in NYC at least).

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

With only 4% of all train stations featuring suicide prevention barriers, it seems like it would be money-well-spent. It costs a lot of money when someone commits suicide by train, so instead of paying for the clean-up, they may as well invest it in the prevention.
Supercoolmanchu

Is suicide so impulsive and unpremeditated? Barriers seem like a good idea, but you would think if someone really wanted to commit suicide, they would just walk over to another train station that doesn’t have a barrier.

It would certainly be a lot safer with all the incidences in the past with lunatics randomly pushing people off the platforms. It always seemed so crazy to me that a big hunk of metal could zoom by at 50mph brushing past a mass of people mere inches away without anybody getting seriously injured. Still to this day whenever I’m on the platform I subconciously check behind me to see no one shady is ready to push me over the tracks… Maybe I’m a bit too paranoid.
http://www.hanenosuke.com/blog Hanenosuke

I think these barriers are laughable. You’re still going to get suicides when people jump over them. They should take a cue from Hong Kong or Guangzhou where they have floor-to-ceiling glass platform walls at almost all stations.
http://notjustvisiting.blogspot.com/ Keith

I’ve already seen these barriers up in several locations around the city, just not on the Yamanote line. When I first saw them, I thought they weren’t very useful for suicide prevention, as anyone can jump right over them if they want to, so it really only prevents impulse suicides.

On the Yamanote and other lines with really crowded stops, these would be nice to prevent accidents more than suicides, I think.

Oh, and when someone commits suicide by jumping in front of a train, their family is charged for the lost time/money so technically it probably won’t save JR much money.
http://www.pacificmorningpost.com Martin

These barriers seem a little low. They installed very similar ones on some of the Taipei subway stations but those are nearly 160cm in height, more like doors.

They tend to get installed only on the stations where there is likely to be a mixed crowd of passengers / children. The “office worker” stations don’t have them. So its not as much a suicide prevention tool — as to avoid children & elderly falling on the tracks.
http://www.360style.net/ Todd

I agree with what Supercoolmanchu and Hanenosuke. If someone decides to end their own life a small barrier isn’t going to stop them.
stereo

I do not think it is appropriate to call them “Suicide Barriers”. Railway companies call them “safety fences”.

If you have ever used trains in Tokyo during rush hours, you find it very easy to kill somebody by pushing him down to rail tracks as a train is approaching. Those fences are meant to prevent such crimes.

hoihoi

>You’re still going to get suicides when people jump over them
before that ,indeed ,someone makes to stop whem ppl tried..

Brian B

Those barriers look siiick! I’ve always wondered why subways don’t have barriers in the first place. I mean, anyone could just slip and fall down onto the tracks. If a train so happens to come by at the same time, there goes that person’s life.
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404error

of i really would wanna kill myself by jumping in front of a train those barrieres wouldnt stop me…

http://www.japanitup.com/ Steve

Yeah, but I bet you’d 2nd guess yourself if you had to climb over one instead of just running straight into death.

otsuka

Odaiba has some floor to ceiling barriers as I recall. I think the musashino-sen could use these more than the yamanote.
shirogohan

These barriers were talked about five or six years ago when a blind Japanese fell, and another Japanese and Korean guy tried to help him back up to the platform. The two people who tried to help were both killed, not sure about the blind person.
These barriers are so blind Japanese do not fall onto the track.
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Holly Blue

Where i live in Australia most major train stations have bumps where you should stand back and anyone who is blind can use their stick to see where to stay back…I know bumps may sound strange but they are quite efective and not so strange to look at.
We musnt get many train suicides here as there has never been talk of barriers except on the West Gate Bridge so there is no need for actual barriers. However with such high suicides in Japan i applaud any move to prevent any number of suicides no matter how small.
^^

Suicide barriers for Tokyo trains

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