Preventing railway suicide: learning from Australia's success

Objective: To examine railway suicide trends and change points in Australia and across states/territories. Methods: We identified railway suicides that occurred in Australia between 2001 and 2023, using data from the National Coronial Information System. We performed negative binomial regression analysis to examine railway suicide trends and joinpoint regression analysis to identify potential change points at both national and state/territory levels. Results: Between 2001 and 2023, railway suicide in Australia declined by 54% (Incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.98, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.97 to 0.99). Substantial declines were observed in Victoria (-62%, IRR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99) and New South Wales (-67%, IRR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99), and, to a lesser extent, in Queensland (-25%, IRR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.99). Nationally, one change point was identified. Between 2017 and 2023, the annual percent change was -8.8% (95% CI -24.5 to -3.3). In Victoria, railway suicide rates decreased annually by 13.6% between 2018 and 2023 (95% CI -38.5 to -4.3). In Western Australia, railway suicide rates increased annually by 10.3% between 2002 and 2010 (95% CI 1.5 to 58.8) and decreased annually by 5.4% between 2010 and 2023 (95% CI -19.8 to -1.8). No change point was identified for other states/territories. Conclusion: Australian railway suicides have declined substantially, with this trend largely driven by reductions in Victoria and New South Wales. These findings demonstrate that railway suicide is preventable through multisectoral initiatives and suggest that interventions should be continued to reduce railway suicide.