– I think that it is the own self that gets to rule. You think “I’m going, I have to make it, they see me.” It’s time to stop thinking like that, because you are making it happen for so many others by only looking out for yourself, says Göran Holmberg, who is operations coordinator at the Swedish Transport Administration in southern Sweden.
On average, three unauthorized people a day move among the tracks in Skåne, and at the top in the region is the municipality of Lund, with a total of 59 incidents during the first nine months of the year.
Costs over 84 million
In addition to the danger to life that the people are exposed to, the Swedish Transport Administration estimates that the derailment has cost the region SEK 84.5 million this year, in lost working time, canceled operations and replacement traffic, among other things.
Track jumps are caused by everything from stressed travelers crossing the tracks, to suicide attempts, children playing in the track area, berry pickers and people sitting and dangling their legs at the edge of the platform.
Will investigate typing stations
Solving the problem has proven difficult. During the autumn, the Swedish Transport Administration will therefore delve deeper into the issue and examine 14 different type stations in southern Sweden.
– What simple measures have worked and what can we use that worked at one station that can be used at another to stop this unauthorized track jumping, says Göran Holmberg.