On Monday, November 24, 2014 9:11:04 PM UTC-5, Michael Finfer wrote:   
      
   > That's not the entire reason.  If there is a fatality, the scene is the    
   > jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner, and nothing can be moved, and    
   > nobody can leave, until the team arrives and completes its    
   > investigation.  They might not be immediately available if, for example,    
   > everyone is tied up at other scenes.  The delays, while they can be    
   > substantial, are necessary.   
      
   My point is that, years ago, the scene was _not_ under the jurisdiction of the   
   Medical Examiner.  The body was removed from the tracks, the crew interviewed,   
   and the train, if not damaged, would move on.  A typical fatality delay would   
   last about 20-30    
   minutes depending on the circumstances.  perhaps investigators would check the   
   area after the train had left and service resumed, but the key part is that   
   service would resume, and investigators had to work around an operating   
   railroad.   
      
   I don't know when this policy changed, maybe 1980s?, but it made a substantial   
   difference for the worse.   
      
      
   FWIW, SEPTA has been posting anti-suicide signs at its stations.  NJT has been   
   doing so for a while.  The NJT Hamilton Twp station has a direct phone hotline   
   on the platform.   
      
      
   > Also, in the event of an accident, in certain circumstances, such as a    
   > fatality, the crew may have the right to ask to be relieved on the spot,    
   > or they may be taken out of service by supervision, and certain rules    
   > violations, such as violation of a stop signal, may result in that    
   > action also.  In any event, delays may result.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)