The RailStaff Awards 2024

Nominations for Samaritans Lifesaver Award

Steve Tollerton

Said the following about Helen Ranasinghe:

“Helen Ranasinghe is a Project Officer on the Samaritans Network Rail suicide prevention team based in Ewell Surrey. On Monday 7th November 2016 Helen was approaching Ewell East station at around 17:45 to catch her train home. However, as she approached the station she could hear the sound of banging and as she got closer it was clear someone was kicking something metallic very aggressively. Coming onto the platform Helen saw an obviously angry male, in his early twenties, kicking the ticket machine. The male was on the phone shouting and swearing and saying things like he was going to “stab her” and he started banging his head against a poster casing. Another male was attempting to engage with him but getting nowhere and the situation was escalating. As Helen approached she heard the aggressive male shout down the phone that he was going to ‘jump in front of the train’. Helen instructed the male passenger to walk to the approach end of the platform to signal the driver and showed him how to do this. She instructed another passenger to phone the police whilst she pressed the emergency button on the help point and informed the operator of the situation. She then tried to engage with the suicidal male. At first he was not responding but Helen tried using different approaches like ‘you look really upset’ and the male burst into tears. She told him her name was Helen and asked him what the matter was. He explained that he was involved in a relationship split with his girlfriend and he had been to the college to try and reconcile things but her friends had intervened and made it clear that it was all over. Helen acknowledged this but she was also aware of the announcements for the arriving train. She invited the male over to a bench further away from the platform edge to have a chat which he accepted. As he talked he started to calm down. The police arrived and told Helen she could leave but the suicidal male requested that she stay which she did. The male was searched for weapons but remained calm, aided by Helen’s presence, before being escorted from the station. Whilst Helen is involved in suicide prevention and has been trained on the Managing Suicidal Contacts training course, I’m particularly proud of her, not just because she is my colleague but because I believe Helen went over and above the call of duty by remaining calm, taking control of the situation, putting her training into practice by requesting the police, approaching the suicidal male who was threatening violence down the phone, moving him to safer location and diffusing a life threatening situation resulting in a successful outcome. This is why I believe Helen is a very worthy nominee for the life saver award.“

Heather Twidle

Said the following about Helen Ranasinghe:

“One evening in early November, I was one of only a couple of people standing on the platform the station, when a young man descended the stairs over the tracks in a state of extreme agitation. He was shouting into his phone and making threats, he then flung his phone in a rage across the platform and became more agitated.

A man on the platform did attempt to talk with him, but the individual was highly distressed and at this point he started yelling about throwing himself under a train. This is when Helen appeared on the platform, and calmly took control of the situation. While I called the police and the other man moved to the end of the platform to flag down the oncoming train, Helen - having first pushed the emergency button - engaged the young man in conversation and managed to draw him away from the platform's edge. She was able to keep him talking until the police - who were also fantastic - arrived.

It took immense courage for Helen to approach the young man, especially given that he had been displaying such erratic and violent behaviour and shouting threats, and show him such compassion and understanding. The station was unfortunately not staffed, so there was no support beyond what the other passenger and I were able to do. I was so grateful she was there. By staying calm and using her training, I genuinely believe Helen was able to help avert a potential tragedy from unfolding in front of us all.“