Acknowledgements

We are greatly indebted to the hundreds of people who generously shared their time, stories, and experiences with us.

This programme of research was commissioned by Samaritans and funded by Network Rail on behalf of the rail industry. We are grateful to the Project Stakeholder Group for their support throughout the research, particularly Ian Stevens, Rachel Watters and Caroline Kingston (Network Rail), Kim Tuley (British Transport Police), Michael Woods (RSSB), Gary Cooper (ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) and National Task Force) and Susie Beevor (ATOC), Stephanie Aston, Ola Rzepczynska and Lorna Fraser (Samaritans). The late Mark Smith, MBE, Head of Suicide Prevention and Mental Health at British Transport Police, played a key role in supporting this research, and several other initiatives to prevent suicide on the railways. His dedicated and intelligent approach to suicide prevention has helped save many lives, and inspired countless others.

Thanks are also due to Professor Keith Hawton, Fiona Malpass, Ian Noonan, and Professor Damien Ridge, who provided invaluable advice and support at several stages of the project, and to Professor Andrea Cipriani for all his help and feedback on the manuscript.

Additional thanks are due to the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA), Rethink Mental Illness, and CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) for their assistance with participant recruitment, to Stephanie Aston and many others at Samaritans for enabling us to conduct research interviews at local branches, and Andy Bardill, Kate Herd and Kirsty Tither of Redloop (Middlesex University) for help with the study website and recruitment materials.