Transport Ministry says 2011 worst on record for passengers falling onto train tracks

Please be careful.

Like most grisly, mortifying numbers in Japan, this one is only going to increase in the future....

deaths and injuries due to passengers falling onto train tracks in Japan.

That's one way to put it.

Most disturbing part of this story comes at the end:

the ministry, as well as rail companies, are urging people who witness such accidents to refrain from climbing down onto the tracks themselves, but instead to press the emergency stop button located on the platform.

Incredible institutional discouragement of acts of bravery (of course with their inherent dangers) in favor of time-wasting button-pushing for help from station personnel who will hold a consensus-building meeting while the victim is crushed to death.

@Ben4short: correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that the emergency button actually stops the train?

If it does as you say simply summon staff, then yes, total waste of time.

Passengers falling onto the train track... Hmm that's a polite way to put it. This country has to change!! That would help the passengers from falling onto the train track...

the blue lights are working, I see.

Nicky, no, the platform button cannot stop the train. Only buttons inside the train can stop it. Platform buttons simply alert the staff.

How about railing?? Like they have on the Marunouchi line??

The other day I asked about guy from Belgium who lived here in Tokyo but had not seen him for a few months. I found out he was too drunk and fell to his death on the Chou line?? RIP

They don't need a railing! They need people to have more common sense - stop getting so damn drunk that you fall into the tracks! Stop thinking that suicide is the answer! Stop looking at your damn phone while walking!

jumping onto the tracks after someone ben4 isnt brave,its dumbarsed

the platform button cannot stop the train

It informs the driver of any incoming train that there is a problem and the trains are stopped... the system is all linked together so I have no idea where you have gotten your opinion from.

Point is, others being on the tracks only raises the chances of them also becoming victims.

This 119 must represent a number they believe to be accidents after investigation.

Some commenters here seem to believe this total includes "tobikomi" which cannot be true because I can remember reading train suicide totals for years on JT that were far in excess of the 119, and just for the Tokyo metro area.

There was a famous case in 2001, where a Korean student and a Japanese cameraman tried to save a man who fell onto the tracks in Shin Okubo. All three died but there is a memorial plate at the station.　Either the staff or passengers can press the emergency stop button which will alert the train driver who will use the emergency brakes to stop the train.

jumping onto the tracks after someone ben4 isnt brave,its dumbarsed

And pushing a button, calm down, is cowardly.

Wipeout - Remember where you are. T.I.J, profit is always more important than safety.

Spending money on barriers makes sense. Not only does it makes sense it's positive responsible action. That's not why Japanese companies are in business. They are in business to make money, not spend it.

I wonder how many are keitai-use related in some way.

"As Japan enters its “bonenkai” (yearend party) season, the ministry, as well as rail companies, are urging people who witness such accidents to refrain from climbing down onto the tracks themselves, but instead to press the emergency stop button located on the platform. "

Or, you know, they could encourage executives of the companies to try and do something to prevent it instead of just saying, "Bonenkai season... sigh... shouganai!". Put up barriers! Won't stop jumpers much if at all, but COULD prevent people from falling onto the tracks accidentally and/or while drunk.

It seems that they classify jumpers (deliberate deaths) and fallers (accidental deaths) separately, but there must be some deaths where it is not really clear.

The numbers of stations in Tokyo with protective barriers is increasing steadily. My business takes me all over Tokyo and I have been noticing more stations with the automatic doors on the platform. They just recently installed them on the platform of Iidabashi station on the Yurakucho line. By the way, the emergency button sends a signal to the operator of the train and they will put on the brakes. Pushing the button is a much faster, safer option.

@calm down

jumping onto the tracks after someone ben4 isnt brave,its dumbarsed

You can put it that way but if I see a child falling onto the tracks, I'll be down there pulling her/him to the side before you can press that button. If it's destiny that we both get crushed by the train, then let it be.

Sorry but THERE IS NO WAY I'M GONNA LIVE MY LIFE THINKING I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING!! Especially when it comes to a child. (Having 6 myself!)

This number, 119, must mean what it says- casualties caused by falling, not suicides. With 30,000+ suicides every year, there must be a separate set statistics on them; they cant all be jumping off buildings or going for a final stroll in the impenetrable forest round Mt Fuji. And, bluewitch, would you seriously leave your 6 kids motherless to try and save a stranger?

@almostshat

And, bluewitch, would you seriously leave your 6 kids motherless to try and save a stranger?

yes, honey..that's the kind of human I am. I'm sorry.

Almostshat, are you sure BlueWitch has only those two choises, do nothing or die? Somebody who has six kids seems more than capable of dragging some salaryman half a meter, away from the tracks. Or push arms and legs inside the tracks, since those trains seem to have considerable ground clearance. There are many ways for safe helping, but one must first look for them.

@gaijin Techie

Thank you for your genuine concern. I know that it would terrible and shocking to my husband if I was going to die in an accident but he knows that if something happens, life MUST continue no matter what.

Still, I'm well aware of the hidden compartments at one side of the train track. I know because I've been there before. My first reaction is to pull the person to the side and lay low till the train goes away. I'm in no way trying to get myself killed on purpose. But if something should happen...

Readers, back on topic please.

This figure clearly calls the needs of amendment. Since trains are the most popular public transportation in Japan, they have to immediately take some measures to reduce the figure in order to guarantee safety of transportation system.

They don't need a railing! They need people to have more common sense - stop getting so damn drunk that you fall into the tracks! Stop thinking that suicide is the answer! Stop looking at your damn phone while walking!

There's always someone who votes down this kind op opinion, but tmarie is right. Haven't you noticed all these people walking, cycling, riding motor bikes, driving their cars, vans, trucks while playing with, talking on, etc, their cell phones, oblivious to what happens around them? There is a limit to what one can do to protect people from their own carelessness, to use a nice term.

I was surprised to see this news, I woulda thought the number woulda been lower due to many stations having installed barriers on the platforms this past year.

The train system in Tokyo make a tremendous amount of money and should start building the walls with gates that open once the train has stopped. They have them in a lot of subways and train stations in Tokyo. As for pressing the button I would do that first and if I can not see a train coming I would jump down to pull them under the platform or in the middle and hang low.

I ride the Chuo Line here in Tokyo, and often it is running late due to an "accident." As it is known as the suicide line, I wonder if such slowdowns or stoppages are caused by another person ending his/her life during rush hour

I was surprised to see this news, I woulda thought the number woulda been lower due to many stations having installed barriers on the platforms this past year.

no barriers for suicide tracks in Japan yet.

A new occupation now, sucide counselors needed for train stations

It's shame so many get killed, but considering the numbers of passengers, it still makes the trains an incredibly safe method of transport.

Like all of us the train companies have limited resources and have to target the safety budget where it will be most effective. Just putting up barriers everywhere will cost us all (we're paying remember) a fortune. Barriers are going up at higher risk stations first and others later. I'm sure some stations won't warrant the expense. Some platforms, particularly on the older lines won't be large enough. I think people sometimes forget we all have a responsibility to look after ourselves when we're out and about. Getting a little less drunk, or being aware of our surroundings will hugely mitigate the risk.

Reckless: "In a country with a modern legal system the train system would be sued and they would provide protective barriers"

Well possibly, but can you name such a country?

Singapore. Yeah yeah, I know, it's not a country, it's a city state, but you get my point.

Singapore Opened: 1987 , average daily ridership 2million.

Tokyo: Oldest sections (Ginza Line) first opened 1932 (first subway in Asia). Average daily ridership (all railway lines, over 12+million in just Tokyo by itself).

New sections and subway lines do have barriers, many of the older ones do not. Cost of retrofitting all of them are enormous. Imagine the disturbance and cost of retrofitting every single station just on the JR metropolitan area. Probably cost more then the GDP of some small countries.

Correction: first sections of the Ginza line opened in 1927.

I don't really like the new barriers, especially in Ebisu-eki. Not sure why. Somehow they detract from the whole train aesthetic and experience, especially outdoor platforms. Plus they are not pretty and take up too much space.

You do realize that if they start putting in barriers, they'll raise the prices right? A little more common sense would go a long way. Personally, I wish they'd make a law about the idiot texting while walking - and followed through. Just think, we could be debt free in a matter of years if they did this - and I am sure accident numbers - platform, car, bike - would all drop.

Falling? Drunk? Phones? Let's get real, it is the economy and other factors. It is called suicide plain and simple. The government takes care of the surviving family members.

Platforms barriers may be expensive, but if they save one life then in my mind they are worth the cost. Some of these accidents may have been suicides, but not all of them probably were. Subway/train platforms are often quite narrow which is bad enough. But, it's even worse when they are crowded with people. So it's not too hard to imagine somebody slipping or accidentally getting bumped and then falling off the platform. It's also not too hard to imagine people getting purposely pushed off the platform for whatever reason. All I know is that I feel safer at a station that has barriers than I do at one that doesn't.

A New York Times article from 2009 (online) stated the following:

Last year, nearly 2,000 people committed suicide in Japan by jumping in front of a train. They accounted for about 6 percent of suicides nationwide.

This incident is certainly a tragedy, but with so many other such suicides every year in Japan I wonder why this particular case made the news.