'Abused' Asian women behind soaring toll of railway suicides

An incredible one third of the total for England and Wales now happen on the line going through Southall, West London, which has a large Asian community.

Last night a women's rights group controversially claimed that the suicides were linked to the "prevalence of domestic violence in Asian families".

Figures from a route manager at First Great Western trains show that 80 of the 240 rail suicides nationally last year were on the lines into Paddington, West London.

Scroll down for more ...

These pass through Slough, Southall and other areas with large Asian communities and carry one tenth of the national rail traffic.

The problem has worsened since the highly publicised death in 2005 of Navjeet Sidhu, 27, who jumped in front of a Heathrow Express train at Southall clutching her five-year-old daughter and 23-month-old son. All three died instantly.

Six months later Mrs Sidhu's mother Satwant Kaur killed herself at the same spot. There was no suggestion Mrs Sidhu was abused. But an inquest heard she felt she had failed in her duties as a Sikh woman to be a good mother and home-maker.

The First Great Western manager's report added that in just one week in July there were four suspected suicides in four days on the track between Slough and London.

His analysis said a "disproportionately high number" of the total fatalities in the area were women of Asian origin.

And the toll of all suicides is so high it has even had a measurable impact on First Great Western's performance – with tracks usually closed for an hour after a body is found and a knock-on effect on services that lasts all day.

As a result, First Great Western accounts for more than half of the delays on the national network, with more than twice as many minutes lost as the next-hardest-hit operator, Virgin Cross Country.

Hannana Siddiqui, from women's group Southall Black Sisters, claimed abuse and "sensitive cultural issues" were at the root of the problem.

She said: "The high instance of Asian women suicides is linked to abusive practices within Asian families.

"There is a correlation between these suicides and violence in Asian homes.

"Psychiatric research has shown there are rarely cases of mental disorders in these cases, suggesting they are the result of social circumstances.

"These women are often isolated and find it hard to escape."

Yasmin Whittaker Khan, a muslim playwright who has written about the social problems affecting Asian communities, said: "They feel there is no other way of escaping problems such as adultery, domestic violence and alcoholism."

The First Great Western calculation of 240 rail suicides nationally last year reveals a rise over Network Rail figures of 203 in 2005.

A company spokesman said the rail firm was making strenuous efforts to tackle the problem.

He added: "Suicide on the railway is a national issue and is a terrible tragedy for all involved, including crews. "First Great Western has seen a number of suicides on the main line in an area west of London. Victims may come from the communities where lines run through, but the firm does not categorise by race.

"Managers are working with The Samaritans to address the issue."

Network Rail, which operates the track infrastructure, said staff had averted three suicide attempts in Southall this year.