A mother whose best friend was killed in a collision with a train last month is now campaigning for increased security measures at smaller train stations during the night to prevent other families from suffering her suffering.

Jill Canovan took her own life at Heaton Chapel station in Stockport at around 4am on Monday 3 June after a long battle with mental health issues.

Rescue workers rushed to the scene, but the mother of two was pronounced dead at the scene. She was only 46 years old and left behind her devastated daughter Amber, 25.

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Maxine Campbell, 50, from Stockport, who knew Jill for more than 30 years, was devastated to hear the news the next morning and has started a petition to make small train stations safer. According to the Office of Rail and Road, there were 300 suicides or suspected suicide attempts on Britain’s main line between April 2022 and March 2023, resulting in 236 deaths.

Maxine believes that securing train stations with a barrier or gate that could be locked at night when passenger trains no longer run would give people time to think.

Ensuring that train stations are adequately lit or staffed at night can also have a deterrent effect, added Maxine, who also lost a family member in similar circumstances in 2020 and has felt unable to board a train since Jill’s death due to her grief.

“I’ve known her since she was 14 and died at 46, so it’s a long-standing friendship, she was like a sister to me,” Maxine said.

“I haven’t been to every single station in the UK, but I know many of the smaller ones. You can access the platforms even when there are no passenger trains running. I know it will happen again, but I believe we can do something to prevent other families having to go through this grief.”

In her petition on Change.org, she calls on the government to “impose night-time security measures at all small railway stations across the country.”

Maxine described Jill as “the life of the party” and said, “You will never find another soul like her.”

“When she died I was really sad, but then I thought about her laughing and just being silly,” Maxine added. “I started laughing and got mad at myself for trying to be sad. She was kind and generous – everyone considered her a best friend.”

But Maxine also knew that Jill had struggled with mental health issues throughout most of her life.

“I knew she had struggled before, but I didn’t realize it was like this now and to what extent,” she said. “We used to be able to talk things through and help her find a different path, but not this time.”

When emergency responders arrived at the scene in the early hours of June 3, Jill was pronounced dead.

Maxine is convinced that Jill might still be alive today if Heaton Chapel station had been closed to the public.

“If there had been a barrier that night, I wouldn’t say she wouldn’t have done something to herself later,” Maxine added. “But if she hadn’t been able to get into the station that night, she wouldn’t have left. It would have been a deterrent, or at least more difficult, and maybe someone would have seen her climbing over the barrier.”

She also pointed out that many of the small train stations she has visited over the years are poorly lit and unmanned at night.

Since the incident, Maxine has avoided train stations and train travel.

“I can’t imagine actually having to get on a train because the sound of the train just brings everything back and it’s still very fresh,” she said.

This is currently making it difficult for her to visit her 32-year-old son and his partner in London. “I would have trouble visiting them now,” she said.

“It’s still fresh, maybe I can do it in a year or two, but right now I just can’t. I don’t even like to say the word (train).”

A Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: “Safety is always our top priority. We work closely with the British Transport Police and industry partners to ensure our customers and staff are safe and protected.”

“We are constantly looking for improvements to make the railway a safe and supportive place for people who are going through a difficult time in life. And we encourage our customers and employees to voice their opinions and seek help when they need it.”

For support with mental health issues, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email [email protected] or visit samaritans.org.

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