I Don't Know Where To Post This! But Its About The London Commuter Route And A Bit Personal To Me.

Its not a big thing in the scheme of things. But the fast line platforms are accessed by the ai plebs in game. However the fast lines have been fenced off from the public to prevent suicides. So they would have no access unless a member of staff opened them for use in exceptional circumstances. I think this should be looked at as an updated.

I have been subject to two railway suicides while onboard and knowing what has happened hasn't done me any good. I cant imagine what the driver, responders, and witnesses from outside the train have to deal with! I know this sounds pathetic but when i run through platforms at speed in the sim I panic.

In my past job i arranged a cab ride for a kid out of Kings Cross to York and i had the privilege to ride along. Coming through Welling North someone walked toward the platform edge and it freaked me out.

Also I have found myself in the same situation but trying my best to recover xx I just thought id post my perspective. All im saying is it could put people in a bad place. maybe not

 

But this is game. People are smarter than real life so they never walk in tracks.

 

Sorry i should not have went into this detail about a simulation.

 

It's a very good point you bring to the table. We know DTG take the presentation of passengers seriously, it probably also matters for licensing at times. So let's hope the real world situation can be put into the route to honour the principles of railway safety that dtg hold themselves to.

 

As a train driver myself i fully understand your point of view, personally i try to keep in mind it's just dumb ai cause there have been several instances in game that would warrant an emergency brake irl

 

I get what you are saying. I am lucky enough to have never been involved in any similar instance, but since the rush hour passenger system went live, the ai walks over the yellow marker lines at stations so often. I too use the horn every time I see that and have it as some sort of "justification" to blast the horns, but I do share the feeling of danger.
My parents where very careful with me and my brother at stations and making sure that we would never step over this line. Even with no train in sight I will never step over this line, as I have had shock moments when I was younger when a train suddenly blasted through the station and me not noticing it (but in safe distance from it).

So yes, I kinda do get a bit uncomfortable seeing the ai walking close to the tracks, but I calm myself knowing that this a game.
BTW, same feeling back when on rapid transit people crossed streets with trains going through them. Even in this game, it was horrible and I am so glad they fixed it earlier this year.
Just know you are not alone with this feeling.

 

Thank you all. I really shouldn't have shared my personal experience. I do understand its just a game, but it doesn't stop the anxiety for me. I enjoy the game but i get that stomach churning feeling. I know its pathetic but unless you have experience such an incident ( And I really hope you do not) Its hard to shake off.

 

Its not about people thinking straight! Its about people from all walks of life who get in a really bad place mentally and don't know what to do! In some cases they take their own lives. It has nothing to being smart. Also some folk who have witnessed such acts suffer from PTSD. It might just be a game but some scenarios or situations can affect people.

 

The OP is spot on with their comments, and only putting passengers where they should be is a key part of keeping the game as realistic as possible. The London Commuter route has a few instances of missing fencing on platform edges, most noticeably at the country end of Victoria on a number of platforms (number 14/15 jump out at me), and the London end of Clapham Junction (on the island platform between the up slow and down main) - I seem to remember they’re wooden IRL?
More passengers does now make it more likely that nasty scenarios could occur, but I’d welcome the changes the OP suggested. It may not be a big deal to most, but at many of these stations the staff do their all to keep people off the fast lines, and with no trains scheduled to stop in the timetable, it makes sense to keep passengers away.

 

Apologies for briefly going off topic but there's a real pain in this message and it's not irrelevant so please don't apologize for bringing it up. I hope your job has offered you appropriate care in any case, and that DTG can find some way of making sure there's no unpleasant reminders for people in your situation. It's also not pathetic, I think anyone would struggle in this position.

 

DTG JD apologies for tagging you as a member of staff in this.
However, I felt I needed to anyway in case you, or any other member of staff, hadn't seen this thread yet as this is quite a serious topic.

Given that this can be a serious trigger to some people like OP that takes away the escapism the game is supposed to bring for them and possibly bring back traumatizing memories of past experiences, would you mind addressing this in the team at the earliest opportunity?
I understand a fix for this could be quite complicated, or at least not as easy at it would seem on first sight, but I feel like this is something that at the very least needs both acknowledgement and addressing.

Many thanks

 

Where possible IRL I'd like to see platform edge gates fitted - I think they'd be a big boost for safety in general and suicide prevention

Of course you'd need standardised vehicle lengths and door positions, but there are a lot of places where that is already the case or will be the case (SWR metro for example - the reason for the squashed cab on the 701s is so that the door positions are the same for a 1x10 and 2x5 formation) - Thameslink is another example as most stations on the MML side will only have 700s stopping.

I'm surprised the new build open air stations on Crossrail didn't get them either - especially Custom House which may be crowded when there is a big event at Excel

 

All you need to know is you don't want to witness what happens from any aspect!! I will not go into detail here! It will have a profound change on your future!

 

I was gonna say something similar to this myself. There's certainly no need to apologize for opening up about it. It's an important topic for all concerned. Like Operation Lifesaver here in America says, "See Tracks? Think Train."

 

I'd like to direct you to the virtual protest I witnessed at Atlantic Terminal!

 

Oh. Well then.

 

Oh my