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An ex of mine's uncle worked for 40 years as a track engineer for a railway company in Tokyo. There, the trains cannot be stopped for any longer than absolutely
by venus 13y ago
An ex of mine's uncle worked for 40 years as a track engineer for a railway company in Tokyo. There, the trains cannot be stopped for any longer than absolutely necessary, and the engineers were/are frequently called out to inspect and help clean up the track, with a claw-type pick-up tool and a bucket. Hit at 100kph and go under the wheels - it can be very messy. And I'm not talking once or twice here, it happened several times a year.
It's possibly even worse being the driver, but it always struck me what an utterly horrific job that must be and wondering what stress-related illnesses it would produce in the affected employees.
edit: I should clarify that any large body parts are collected by the police or medical personnel. The engineer's job is to certify the integrity of the track and clear it of foreign matter, washing it down too if necessary.
- sspiff 13y agoThe uncle of my girlfriend is a train driver (not in Japan, but in Belgium), and he's had several of these incidents happen during his career. Here, walking under a train is one of the more popular methods of committing suicide. It's a very tough situation, because trains don't stop on demand. Last week, a friend-of-a-friend killed himself by walking into a slow-driving train. Imagine being the driver of a train with a 20-year-old kid walking towards your cabin and being unable to stop the train in time.