A recent NPR article quoted a Brightline/Virgin Trains executives statement claiming that suicides caused 75 percent of the rail lines deaths. The author of the article found an inconsistency when comparing this figure with the U.S. Department of Transportations 30 percent suicide rate. Although trains are a known method for suicide, Brightline/Virgin Trains USA has never explained how it arrived at the 75 percent number. Representatives have never explained the companys criteria for designating a death as a suicide. Railroad companies often label non-passenger casualties as trespassers or suicides. The Department of Transportation has studied railway deaths for years, and the agency remains uncertain regarding suicide causation. Before the agency reaches a Trespasser Intent Determination, it requires a state coroner or medical examiners (MEs) assessment. Even then, the agency feels that the standards vary nationwide depending on who is making the judgment call. MEs often have extensive medical backgrounds. Coroners are usually elected and not subject to the same high medical standards as a medical examiner. It makes a difference in determining if a railroad death was a suicide or a matter of bad timing.