The number of suicide attempts on the Tube has fallen for the first time in five years, figures show.

The slight drop comes as transport bosses hailed efforts by staff to be more responsive and sympathetic to vulnerable passengers and increase interventions across the underground network.

Transport for London (TfL) data showed there was an average of 2.8 suicide attempts per four-week period in 2014-15, 3.1 in 2015-16, 4.2 in 2016/17, and 5.5 in 2017-18.

Analysis of the first eight months of the current financial year shows there were 48 attempts – an average of 5.3 per four-week period, the first time since at least 2014 the rate has not increased.

It follows efforts by TfL that have doubled the number of interventions – when staff approach passengers displaying signs they may be contemplating taking their own lives.

100 years of the Ministry of Transport Show all 30 1 /30 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1919 Motor lorries being used to transport passengers during a tube strike in London Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1919 A bank holiday crowd queuing to board a tram at Golder's Green Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1919 A London Motors bus en route to Dorking on Whitsun holiday Getty Images 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1924 Mr Baldock from Clapham Depot Trams arrives at the Law Courts in London to attend an enquiry set up by the Ministry of Labour, into the bus and tram strike Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1939 The 'Royal Scot' pulling out of Euston Station, London, on the way to Blisworth, Northamptonshire, amongst the passengers was the Minister of Transport, Leslie Burgin Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1946 Labour politician Alfred Barnes ( right), the Minister of Transport, enjoys a cup of tea with Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield and a group of bus drivers at the LPTB headquarters Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1946 Lord Winster, Minister of Civil Aviation, making an address at Heathrow Airport, London beside Air Vice Marshal Donald Bennett (right), who formed and led the RAF's Pathfinder Force Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1948 A Vickers Viscount demonstrates near Weybridge, Surrey. The Viscount was the first civil transport plane powered exclusively with propeller-turbines PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1958 The Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Harold Watkinson, points out features of the new airport to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, who were visiting Gatwick Airport for its official opening PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1966 British Labour Minister of Transport, Barbara Castle with Maurice Holmes and parliamentary secretary to the minister, Stephen Swingler buying a ticket from a machine on board a conductorless bus Getty 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1966 Barbara Castle, Minister of Transport, passes through the turnstile in one of London Transport's new Red Arrow buses that she inspected at the Ministry in Southwark, London PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 1966 British Labour Party politician Barbara Castle, the Minister for Transport, tries out the new 'Midge' Morrison-Electricar after opening the 1966 Commercial Motor Show at Earl's Court in London. 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The minister, who was widely criticised for the running of his department, said he was leaving because it was the right thing to do PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2005 The Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling is given a tour of the latest railway integrated control centre (ICC) as he opens the Anglia ICC PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2005 Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair chats with the media aboard a train from Bristol to London after visiting a science and natural history educational centre PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2007 Tony Blair, who is regarded by drivers as one of the last people they would want as a car passenger, according to a poll out in 2007 PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2008 Transport Minister Ruth Kelly with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Labour Party conference, in Manchester PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2008 Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly near the A3 at Hindhead to witness the start of excavation work on the longest road tunnel under land in the UK PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport 2012 Transport Secretary Justine Greening during the official opening of the new terminal building at London Southend Airport in Essex PA 100 years of the Ministry of Transport Transport secretary Chris Grayling is facing two parliamentary inquisitions after the Brexit ferry fiasco cost the taxpayer at least £33m. 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However, TfL said it was “too early to draw any conclusions” as to whether its intervention scheme could be linked to the drop in suicide attempts, pointing to a fall in the national suicide rate.

Martin Bendrey, head of suicide prevention at TfL, told The Independent: “We have seen a notable rise in the number of staff interventions as a result of the new training programme on how to identify and support any customers who appear to be in distress.

“Suicide is an incredibly complex issue and it is too early to draw any conclusions. We can’t tackle suicide alone but we can make ourselves as responsive and sympathetic to vulnerable people as possible.”

Analysis by the Press Association showed there were 5.7 interventions for every suicide attempt on the London Underground network since staff were given advice in November 2017 on how and when to intervene.

This compares with 2.8 interventions in the six months before.

Tube worker Hayley Baines stopped a woman making an attempt on her own life just two days after receiving the training.

“She was getting very upset because her Oyster card wasn’t working,” the 31-year-old said.

“I took her over to the machine but there wasn’t any credit and she started crying.

“I said, ‘What are you thinking of doing?’ She said she just wanted to sit on the platform.”

The woman later left the station voluntarily, but returned an hour later.

“She ran down. I ran down straight after and saw her on the edge of the platform.

“We spoke and she sat down on the edge of the platform.”

Ms Baines raised the alarm with a supervisor and stopped the trains entering the station.

“Eventually I managed to speak to her, she got up and we went into the supervisor’s office, but it was terrifying, actually terrifying,” she said.

Tube driver Vaughan Thomas’s experience of suicide on the Tube was even more harrowing.

TfL suicide prevention programme: tube driver recalls hitting passenger on tracks

Describing an incident in 2007 in which a passenger lost his life, the 61-year-old said: “I noticed a young man in casual clothes step out and was standing on the track looking at me.

“As you can imagine, it was an awful shock to see something there that shouldn’t be there.

“It became clear he wasn’t going to get out of the way. So I closed my eyes.”

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It was the first suicide Mr Thomas experienced first-hand during his eight years’ service with TfL. The next day, he was granted permission to sit in the front cab next to a driver and retrace his route, this time continuing fully into the station where it happened.

He was given the all-clear to return to driving duties a month later. But the incident continued to play on Mr Thomas’s mind.

“Each time I was coming to a station I was assessing if I had seen them here, could I have stopped?” he said.

Efforts to increase the number of interventions on the Tube mirror Network Rail’s “small talk saves lives” campaign which seeks to encourage members of the public and station staff to intervene if they believe someone is contemplating ending their life on the above-ground network.

Network Rail has trained 16,000 employees in how to help when they fear someone is feeling suicidal and has partnered with the Samaritans to tackle the problem.

The campaign encourages passengers to notice potential warning signs, such as a person standing alone, looking distant or withdrawn or staying on the platform for a long time without boarding a train.