Another suicide on SkyTrain
A touchy subject but it must be addressed.
A medical emergency is TransLink speak for someone killed by a Skytrain, either by accident or suicide. In most cases some poor soul has decided to end their days by throwing themselves in front of a driverless SkyTrain.
For those contemplating suicide, their twisted thinking is that a driverless train is the perfect killing machine and in Europe, screens and sliding doors are now the norm on major subway systems, to prevent “machine killing” by automatic metros.
Light Rail doesn’t have the same type of problems, because drivers are trained to look for potential suicides and the tram design itself, prevents people being run over, with modern design “lifesavers”.
SkyTrain service restored following medical emergency
A train on the SkyTrain Expo line. The Burrard Street SkyTrain service has been temporarily shut down because of a medical emergency.
Photograph by: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER – The Burrard Street SkyTrain service has resumed after it was shut down this morning because of a medical emergency.
TransLink says riders should allow some extra travel time as service returns to normal. A shuttle bus had been operating between Main Street and Waterfront stations, but that will end now that the Expo Line is operational.
TransLink has not released any details of the emergency.
Ai?? Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
No mode can prevent suicides. People can and have jumped in front of LRV to take their lives.
Zweisystem replies: Far fewer people will jump in front of a LRV and it is very difficult for the LRV/tram to actually run over a person. Metros do not have “life-savers” and throwing ones self in front of a metro chances are you will be run over and dismembered and die.
“Life-savers” are generally spring activated and when activates will deploy and prevent dismemberment.
Now you’re blaming suicide deaths on skytrain? Show some respect for the terrible situation and stop spinning it to support your pro-LRT platform.
This isn’t about the debate now, it’s simply a matter of what’s right and wrong.
Zweisystem replies: BC Transit was warned that the automated Skytrain would be a magnet for suicides, which they quietly ignored and to date over twice as many people are killed annually by Skytrain than Calgary’s light rail system. What is wrong in stating facts? There are methods to deter suicide by train, but to date Translink has remained deaf to them, a situation that you wish to continue.
No. I don’t wish for the suicides to continue – why would you say something like that? I’d also point out that there are more than twice as many people in Vancouver than there are in Calgary.