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On the Rails

Tuesday April 17 2018

Jackie Macadam reports on the work of two groups showing God's love in action on Scotland's railways.

It has happened to us all at some point.

‘Train delayed due to incident on the line.’ It’s a cause of nuisance and perhaps a source of irritation as we have to call people and say we’ll be late or make other arrangements.

But for a small group of railway workers, that’s the time they swing into action – and their job is not entirely what you might expect.

“The Railway Mission are there for all affected,” says Ruth McBean. “We work with the station managers, staff and guards who are likely to be first on the scene of an accident or a suicide and we work with any passengers who might be witnesses or upset by the incident.”

Ruth covers the east coast of Scotland and has colleagues who are responsible for the west coast and the north too.

“It is a very diverse role – involving a 
lot of travelling and being able to largely manage my own time. We do so much work, principally with the staff and other professionals who work with the Railways
– station staff, drivers, conductors, management and the British Transport Police.

“We also lead discussions, groups and seminars, and are involved with suicide prevention and run ‘conversation cafés’
– anything that will help people talk about their feelings after an accident on the lines and their own mental health.

“Drivers often see an accident or a suicide coming from a long way off, and due to the nature and speed of trains, can do nothing about it. That’s incredibly traumatic.

“Railway workers and railway police often have to pick up body parts after an accident on the line and that is very stressful. Without a way, like us, where they can talk through their feelings, their fears, their emotions and that stress, people can break down and be overwhelmed.

“And it’s not just exterior deaths. We have had passengers who have died during a journey – and then you can have a carriage full of people who are very upset and are having to cope with an entirely natural, but unexpected occurrence while just on their way to work in the morning.”

Meanwhile, Moss Barclay and his team of ‘Rail Pastors’ are the first of their kind in Scotland.

It is a spin-off from the Street Pastors movement that is widespread throughout Scotland.

Moss, who is co-ordinator of the Dunfermline Street Pastors, said: “In Dunfermline, we patrol a circular route – we call it our ‘Jericho Road’. When we heard about the Rail Pastors working in England, we realised we had the Fife Circle rail route right here on our doorstep.

“We were asked to set up a pilot project in conjunction with British Transport Police, and the Ascension Trust Scotland, Network Rail and ScotRail. We couldn’t do it alone so we called for help from other initiatives in Fife, as well as two volunteers from Edinburgh.

“We tailor our approach exactly the same as we do on the streets. We take similar resources – blankets, slip on flip-flops, etc, so that we can show God’s love in action in practical ways.

“We are there as volunteers to help passengers. That’s the main difference between what we do and the Railway Mission’s work.

“We currently have 12 Rail Pastors and go out in teams of four one Saturday a month. We get training from Network Rail who use the Samaritans’ expertise to help us look out for potential suicides or people in a crisis situation – or even just vulnerable people travelling on the trains.

“One such person was a single mum with two young children who was stranded at customer services one evening after missing her last train. We were able to find her a room for the night, put her in a taxi and helped her sort out her travel for the next day.

“Since we started in Scotland, we’ve had observers from Street Pastor groups in the west looking at what we’re doing, and two new Rail Pastors groups are in the pipeline.

“People know they can approach us – one man recently asked me for prayerful help concerning his travel arrangements – so they know it doesn’t have to be a big life or death moment. We are there to spread God’s love and that extends to all areas of our lives.”

A longer version of this feature appeared in April's Life and Work. Download or subscribe here.