Rail Pastors: Making a huge difference with the smallest of interventions

This is the mindset of Colchester's latest group of good samaritans - the rail pastors.

The group of volunteers, who have all been street pastors in the past, have just launched a new initiative across Essex to support vulnerable people at train stations.

The patrols are due to start along Greater Anglia's train network, at stations between Colchester to Shenfield.

About 20 volunteers across the county have been trained to patrol throughout the day and into the evening, helping anyone who is vulnerable or distressed.

Phil Norton, who now gets funding from the Ascension Trust for pastors to help vulnerable people, has been a street pastor for five years.

"We support the Samaritans charity by giving people a bit of time to share things before they make that awful decision to take their life," he said.

"We all know the ramifications of that on everyone, as it impacts so many people."

The volunteers act as eyes on the ground, scouting out any potential trouble. They all have a keen eye when it comes to spotting those in distress, from their previous experience as street pastors.

Mr Norton, who is also a father, said he started as a street pastor with a passion of offering a safe haven and a helping hand to those who need it.

He said: "We are not there to intervene, we are not police or law enforcers. Say if there was a fight about to break out, we would just stand nearby and offer them things like bottles of water to try and break up any tense situations."

Mr Norton, who spent three days in London following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, said he could recall many incidents during which people have shared the most intimate details of their lives with him.

"Recently we were on duty in the High Street in Colchester when we saw a lady in a very distressed way," he said.

"We realised she was very vulnerable, there were a couple of men hanging around her. She was unwell and didn't have any shoes on. We took time to be with her and we put a foil blanket around her and gave her some water.

"We then contacted her family who came and picked her up, she had just been through a relationship breakdown and the drink just took hold of her."

The street pastors are not there to pass judgement, instead they offer support and connect these vulnerable people with the services they need.

The rail pastor's role will work in the same way - they have all completed the Samaritans’ Managing Suicidal Contacts course, which has been undertaken by thousands of rail workers across the country.

Mr Norton added: "If you are at the railway station but are not travelling you look at things through different eyes. There was a time when I noticed someone on the platform who wasn't paying attention to a specific train.

"I just gently went over and sat next to him and engaged in conversation which snapped them out of whatever was going on in their heads at the time.

"I took him for a coffee in the station cafe and we were only there for about 10 minutes, but that small intervention snapped him out of whatever was getting him down."

Jay Thompson, head of safety at Greater Anglia, said the initiative was fully welcomed. All the volunteers are in place and the only step left is to draw up a protocol.

In the future the pastors hope to expand onto the C2C line, and even in schools.