by Dave Burke

dave.burke@essnmedia.co.uk

Rail chiefs have taken a dramatic new step this week in order to tackle the high number of people committing suicide at Purley Station.

A platform-length fence has been installed between platforms 2 and 3 in a bid to prevent people taking their own lives in front of the high-speed trains which thunder past platform 2 without stopping.

Southern Rail believes the measure, which was completed on Monday, could have a huge positive impact, and similar fences are set to be put up at Purley Oaks Station and South Croydon.

But some commuters have been less than impressed with the Purley initiative.

Fuming engineer Mark Williams, who uses the station every day to get to work, fears the fence will make many people miss connecting trains.

He has already turned up late for work this week after he had to walk along Platform 2 to the one gate in the fence and double back on himself to get down the stairs - missing his train.

Mr Williams, 49, said: "It's ridiculous.

"I pay £116 a month to get from Kingston-on-Thames to Kenley and now I can't because I miss my connections.

"It's going to add a couple of minutes onto everyone's journey, and that's all you need to make a connection.

"This morning I watched the Caterham train disappear off into the distance.

"A lot of people were getting off the train and thinking: 'What

the hell is going on?'"

It's believed the gate will be locked for most of the day, when no trains stop at platform 2, blocking access to jumpers entirely.

Southern Rail has defended the measure.

A spokesman told the Advertiser: "The fencing has been installed to try and reduce the number of accidents, incidents and suicides from the fast lines.

"Although we sympathise with the passenger's inconvenience, the safety of passengers using the station has to be the first priority for us.

"Purley has an unfortunate reputation for suicides and suicide attempts and this fence is one of the measures we are taking to reduce the risk of such occurrences."

Earlier this year, this newspaper revealed that station staff were being given training by national charity The Samaritans.

A spokeswoman for the charity said this week: "It was highlighted as a station where there are a lot of suicides.

"We're working closely with different railway network providers to try and ensure that all the station staff are trained.

"That includes platform staff so they can approach people who look like they're in emotional distress and who look like they might take their own life.

"At the moment it's at quite an early stage and we haven't done any evaluation, so we don't have any measure of how it's going as yet."