Rail worker 'severely disciplined' for train suicide Facebook joke

Stock photo: PA

A rail worker has been "severely disciplined" after joking on Facebook about the cost of cleaning a train after a suicide.

Ross Cameron Gordon, from Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, was commenting on a suicide at the March freight train depot in Cambridgeshire.

According to the Daily Record, he wrote: "I just had to raise an order at work for someone's remains to be scraped off the front of one of our trains. Only 1025 quid. Bargain! Happy Christmas!"

In response to a friend asking what happened, he wrote: "March depot. Suicide."

He also wrote a message blasting Jacintha Saldhana, the nurse who took her own life after putting a prank call through to the Duchess of Cambridge's hospital ward.

He wrote: "Just because that stupid b**** couldn't take a joke, selfishly killed herself and left 2 kids behind, the whole radio station that was behind the PRANK call to Kate is being investigated.

"Completely over the top. It was a JOKE. Take a joke."

An outraged Facebook "friend" was moved to contact his bosses at Electro-Motive Diesel Ltd and complain about his social media updates.

Duncan Scott, managing director of the Dyce firm, said they had investigated the matter: "The staff member breached the company's social media policy and has been severely disciplined in line with procedure.

"He sincerely regrets the comments were made."

A spokeswoman for charity Touched by Suicide told the Daily Record: "For anyone to write something like that is disgraceful.

"How do we get rid of the stigma of suicide with this ignorance?"

Mr Scott added that the company guidance on social media had been reissued.

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