The Paris metro is considering digging anti-suicide trenches or fitting warning radar in its 380 stations in an effort to reduce the number of people who try to kill themselves on the network.
In a confidential study leaked to the French press, the capital’s transport authority RATP estimated an average 61 suicide attempts a year cost it in the region of â,¬9m in emergency interventions and network disruption, plus the severe but often unquantifiable trauma suffered by staff who witness an attempt.
Christmas and New Year are peak periods, with three times the monthly norm, said the report, extracts of which were published in the newspaper Le Parisien.
About 41% of people who try to take their lives by jumping in front of a metro are women, according to the report; overall, women make up just 25% of all suicide attempts in France.
The study recommended the excavation of pits between the rails for people to roll into. It also proposed a radar system to send a warning signal to train drivers whenever an object hits the tracks.
The driverless line 14, from St Lazare to the new National Library, was opened in 1998 and features full-height glass barriers along all platforms with sliding doors that open only when a train has arrived. But this technology was deemed too expensive to be adopted across the network.
RATP is also considering offering special staff training, since many would-be suicides speak to someone in the minutes before they make their attempt.
The average Paris metro driver is likely to be faced with a suicide attempt at least once in their careers. Many take months of counselling to recover, and some are unable to drive a train again. – Guardian Unlimited Â