Blood on the tracks, again

A sense of déjà vu struck me on arriving at W-wa Powiśle yesterday morning. Ahead of me, I could see an ever-increasing number of people walking along the tracks from a stationary train. Then another train drew up behind the first one. More passengers spilled out across the tracks. Something serious had happened.

This also happened last January; then it was a broken-down train. This time - a person under a west-bound train at W-wa Śródmieście, just minutes earlier, as my east-bound train was passing through. The result - paralysis of all west-bound suburban services for the rest of the morning. The story is here (illustrated with one of my photos - reason why I have a camera with me at all times) and here in greater depth. TVN Warszawa is careful not to mention suicide. However, reading the comments on the page, it seems clear from eye witnesses that the man did jump; the platform was not crowded. If so, this is another case of someone who took his own life under a train; I noted one last November near W-wa Dawidy.

W-wa Śródmiescie is a depressing place. Especially when waiting for trains that are running 15, 30 or even 90 minutes late. The drabness of the architecture and lighting, the listless crowds, lack of seating and above all the smell, all conspire to deprive one of the very will to live. Yet unlike the mainline stations, Śródmiescie is not earmarked for a pre-Euro2012 facelift.

Looking at the photo above, bear in mind that just behind me was an east-bound train ready to depart from W-wa Wschodnia; it could not move because of all the people on the track. They should have got off on the other side, where rail traffic was stationary. One woman was almost crushed against the platform as she decided at the last moment to dart in front of the moving train.

This time last year:
Views from footbridges

This time two years ago:
Most Poniatowskiego in black and white

This time three years ago:
Frosty morn in Jeziorki