2-Analysis of target situation Use additional prompting questions to identify more details about a specific problem: location, behaviour, existing measures.

Once the problem has been defined globally, the next step should include the detailed understanding of a target situation where measures are considered for implementation. Information can be collected from different data sources such as: behaviour reports, accident / suicide investigation report (if available), specific incident reports, or CCTV   footage.

The characteristics of the specific location should be considered: the environment, spatial configuration, history of the site, pre-existing measures and specific constraints. At this stage you can use relevant characteristics from a list to obtain more data (based on the categories within e.g., location – station, crossing, etc.), review of existing measures in targeted locations, conduct field visits, check the safety record, brainstorm with RU / IM experts, etc. Try to figure out what is needed at that specific site to eliminate / diminish the target incident.

Actions Questions to be answered Issues to be considered
Definition of target location What is the exact location in question?
  • track address / sector
  • particular station
  • boundaries of targeted site (map)
  • any particular configuration of the location
Problem behaviour What do the statistics of suicides and attempted suicides tell about the problem?
  • distribution in time
  • exact locations
  • information of details
What do the statistics of trespassing accidents tell about the problem?
  • distribution in time
  • exact locations
  • by severity
  • other details
What is the frequency of trespassing?
  • counts of trespassing needed, if information is not available
Is it possible to identify the routes used by trespassers?
  • point of entry and point of exit
  • trespasser flows per route
What are the motives of problem behaviour?
  • observations
  • interviews of trespassers
  • interviews of local residents
  • questionnaire to local residents
What are the targeted people?
  • children playing
  • children going to school
  • youngsters loitering
  • vandalism
  • adult commuters
  • people during their free time activities (e.g. walking their dog, taking photographs)
  • people going to / coming from sportive activities on stadiums
  • people going shopping, coming home from a bar, etc.
  • people with mental problems
  • people with suicide intent prone to choose the railways as a means
Existing measures What are the details of existing measures?
  • lack of present safety measures
  • for each measure separately
  • what, where, when implemented
  • current status?
  • need of maintenance?
What is the estimated effectiveness of existing measures?
  • for each measure separately
  • does it work as intended?
  • if not, why?
  • if studies do not exist, provide expert estimate
Definition of the objectives of new measures What are the targeted incidents?
  • suicides
  • suicide attempts
  • trespassing accidents
  • trespassing behaviour
What is the targeted behaviour?
  • exactly where within the target location the targeted behaviour occurs
  • is it focused in certain time periods (e.g. summer or night)
  • does the targeted behaviour have some specific features (e.g. loitering on platforms, concerns especially teenagers etc.)