Major Incident at Huntingdon (01/11/2025)

[LowLevel]

It transpires it is the guard who is in hospital. Hopefully they make a full recovery.

I assume another member of staff or a passenger has alerted the driver and spoken to them verbally. Is it possible to do this using the passcomm on the Hitachis?

That's not what I'd heard so perhaps we are best not speculating about individuals until further information is released?

 

[bleeder4]

The BBC have the name of the train driver with a picture of him on their website, so I assume it has been released.

A full bio of him as well. He's ex-military. Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran.

 

[800001]

The BBC have the name of the train driver with a picture of him on their website, so I assume it has been released.

It was on the telegraph website earlier today, I would say it's been leaked. Rather than officially released.

 

[185143]

Prayers for the brave LNER staff member in a critical condition. I imagine they were attacked while trying to protect their passengers and colleagues. 800111 should well be named after them, with their permission of course.

Absolutely yes.

I've got every faith that LNER will do something to recognise the crew involved, other TOCs certainly have in the past. Naming the unit after the crew member, if they agree of course, would be a great gesture.

I seem to recall the guard travelling pass on 1T08 in Aberdeenshire was rightly recognised with an award after the actions she took. And on a much lower scale of severity, I seem to remember reading London Midland hosting a dinner party for the crews involved in the derailment and collision north of Watford about 8 years ago for their actions in the aftermath.

 

[Tester]

Further to the discussion above about preselection (the ability for the signaller to store a route request), I think we can be very confident that the signaller here was watching those route lights like a hawk, with therefore zero delay compared with a putative stored route request.

 

[AlterEgo]

That's not what I'd heard so perhaps we are best not speculating about individuals until further information is released?

It has been released on the BBC website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm2zvjx1z14t?post=asset:20a3659c-432e-4ba2-9d64-8dbb2a561acc#post

The train guard - who is still unnamed - and the person who was in contact with the attacker, remains in a life-threatening condition in hospital.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

We can be thankful as well for the exceptional performance of the Hitachi IET units - to be able to brake from 120mph+ at a signal that has changed ahead of you from green to single-yellow, in anticipation of the junction being pulled over and managing to judge the speed and time to both avoid Spadding the junction signal and safely negotiate the crossovers and stop in the platform takes some serious balls on the part of the driver, exceptional skill and judgement, as well as confidence in the performance of his train.

 

[800001]

It has been released on the BBC website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm2zvjx1z14t?post=asset:20a3659c-432e-4ba2-9d64-8dbb2a561acc#post

Where have they got that info from? As it has not been released by BTP or LNER in the earlier statements.
And that differs from what I've been told.
Maybe the bbc are forgetting there were several other LNER staff on board, and also travelling LNER staff commuting to work.
Anyway I think we are deviating from what matters, that sadly a brave member of staff is fighting for life.
An 'Official' announcement will follow some point.

 

[Banham7]

The train guard - who is still unnamed - and the person who was in contact with the attacker, remains in a life-threatening condition in hospital.

Note that it does not specify train guard, it's an on-train crew member which could be anything such as a customer host, or a cleaner.

 

[AlterEgo]

Note that it does not specify train guard, it's an on-train crew member which could be a customer host, or a cleaner.

It does say, and I quote, "the train guard".

 

[357]

We can be thankful as well for the exceptional performance of the Hitachi IET units - to be able to brake from 120mph+ at a signal that has changed ahead of you from green to single-yellow, in anticipation of the junction being pulled over and managing to judge the speed and time to both avoid Spadding the junction signal and safely negotiate the crossovers and stop in the platform takes some serious balls on the part of the driver, exceptional skill and judgement, as well as confidence in the performance of his train.

I drive much older trains that can stop from 125mph to 0 in one signal section.

I also think you're not completely familiar with the location and geography of the signals and locations involved.

As for the rest of your post, I really don't have the time to reply right now but I hope someone else will - I think your understanding of the way things work is a little off.

 

[Vexed]

This is a seriously impressive post.

As someone who took up railway signal engineering as a career 53 years ago, I am humbled that someone from outside the industry has put this together so well.

Re your asterisked note, points generally do not auto-normalise. There are occasions where this is done for specific reasons, but it is rare, and there is no reason for it to apply here. (Your observation of niche is spot on!)

In addition, what this timeline shows is that comprehensive approach locking (which I commented on in an earlier post) was irrelevant here; the timeline would have been identical either way.

Well done to you, and well done to the driver and signaller, who appear to have managed this masterfully.

Thank you. It wouldn't have been possible without the Open Rail Data wiki having data for that describer available! The S Class data (all non-berth signalling data) is very hard to interpret otherwise.

 

[Banham7]

It does say, and I quote, "the train guard".

Apologies, your link directed me to the post at 17:50 which said "staff member".

 

[AlterEgo]

Where have they got that info from? As it has not been released by BTP or LNER in the earlier statements.
And that differs from what I've been told.
Maybe the bbc are forgetting there were several other LNER staff on board, and also travelling LNER staff commuting to work.

Of course they might but they are the state broadcaster and we expect them to get things right. If it is not the correct information you should correct the BBC by complaining or contacting them.

 

[Steve Harris]

Note that it does not specify train guard, it's an on-train crew member which could be anything such as a customer host, or a cleaner.

Unfortunately it does. See the update at 18.56 by Marc Ashdown.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 2 Nov 2025 ==

Of course they might but they are the state broadcaster and we expect them to get things right. If it is not the correct information you should correct the BBC by complaining or contacting them.

^This.

I've had to contact them earlier today for putting out incorrect information. In fact, BBC journalism has been going steadily downhill over the years. But that's for another thread on another day.

 

[Banham7]

Unfortunately it does. See the update at 18.56 by Marc Ashdown.

Ah, so it does. Unfortunately the link directed me to the post at 17:50 which said "staff member".

 

[jon0844]

And we all know that MP's always tell the truth

If I worked in the media, they would be the last source I'd trust.

Yeah, when you have MPs like Nigel Farage speaking before getting the facts and saying he's 'just asking questions'.

 

[Steve Harris]

Yeah, when you have MPs like Nigel Farage speaking before getting the facts and saying he's 'just asking questions'.

I think he walks on his hands

 

[AlterEgo]

Do you have a source for that?

Understand you're on moderation and therefore this has posted out of sequence, but it is on the BBC website, verbatim. See subsequent posts. Apologies for duplication but I didn't want to appear to have ignored you as the first sceptic to raise the question.

 

[43096]

Of course they might but they are the state broadcaster and we expect them to get things right.

You only have to look at some of their nonsense on the live updates last night to know that they haven't with this incident.

 

[Steve Harris]

You only have to look at some of their nonsense on the live updates last night to know that they haven't with this incident.

Well. Unless someone corrects them they will carry on (a bit like a child really).
I've corrected them on 3 occasions now over different things (they don't seem to know how to do a quick Internet search to verify what they are saying). So as @AlterEgo says, if your unhappy complain to them.

 

[bramling]

You only have to look at some of their nonsense on the live updates last night to know that they haven't with this incident.

I don’t mind cutting some slack to media outlets on technical details of the railway, but something as basic as which service was involved or where Huntingdon is located isn’t specialist stuff. It feels like the media don’t care what they chuck out these days, perhaps a case of rose-tinted spectacles but it doesn’t feel like this was the case a generation ago. Also in those days, news programs felt like news, rather than political hobbyhorses with a tiny sprinkling of news thrown in.

 

[Stampy]

Update on the BBC News website....

British Transport Police Detectives have just released an update into their investigation into the stabbings that took place on a train in Cambridgeshire last night.

Here's what you need to know:

• A 32-year-old British man from Peterborough is now being treated as the only suspect following an incident on board a London-bound train on Saturday
• The suspect boarded the train in Peterborough and a knife was recovered by officers at the scene, BTP said
• He and a 35-year-old were both arrested last night on suspicion of attempted murder - but the second man has since been released after police confirmed he was not involved
• An LNER rail staff member who tried to stop the attack remains in life-threatening condition, while five others have now been discharged from hospital
• The actions of that LNER employee "were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved many people's lives", police say
• Specialist detectives are looking into the background of the suspect in custody and the events that led up to the attack

 

[Steve Harris]

I don’t mind cutting some slack to media outlets on technical details of the railway, but something as basic as which service was involved or where Huntingdon is located isn’t specialist stuff. It feels like the media don’t care what they chuck out these days, perhaps a case of rose-tinted spectacles but it doesn’t feel like this was the case a generation ago. Also in those days, news programs felt like news, rather than political hobbyhorses with a tiny sprinkling of news thrown in.

Indeed. I had to laugh last night when the BBC came out with "Huntingdon is a very rural market town". Granted its not a city, but it used to be the county town for a shire which got abolished decades ago and what with the A14 and A1 running close by I wouldn't call it very rural.

 

[WesternLancer]

And we all know that MP's always tell the truth

If I worked in the media, they would be the last source I'd trust.

Maybe. But see theory on the ‘heirarchy of credibility’

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I drive much older trains that can stop from 125mph to 0 in one signal section.

I also think you're not completely familiar with the location and geography of the signals and locations involved.

As for the rest of your post, I really don't have the time to reply right now but I hope someone else will - I think your understanding of the way things work is a little off.

I’m familiar with the general layout of the area. Reading the post from @Vexed shows that the junction signal clears from red to green 14 seconds ahead of 1Y90 passing it. If 1Y90 had tripped the TPWS overspeed loops approaching the signal it would have been brought to a stand. So some very impressive work by the driver to bring the speed down quick enough to buy time for the signaller without using full ‘emergency’ brake which would also presumably have stopped the train.

 

[redreni]

Quote from the rolling coverage:
"Five casualties have now been discharged from hospital and one remains in a life-threatening condition.

"This casualty is a member of LNER rail staff who was on the train at the time and tried to stop the attacker.

"Detectives have reviewed the CCTV from the train and it is clear his actions were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved many people's lives."

I don't work in the rail industry, but my thoughts are with the staff involved in this incident and their colleagues, as well as the passengers involved. Best wishes, in particular, to the individual who reportedly remains in a critical condition in hospital.

It's easy to get frustrated when staff don't always do what they should - but actually, there are countless examples every day of railway staff helping people, often going well beyond the call of duty to do so. And here's a humbling example of what railway people can do.

 

[43096]

I’m familiar with the general layout of the area. Reading the post from @Vexed shows that the junction signal clears from red to green 14 seconds ahead of 1Y90 passing it. If 1Y90 had tripped the TPWS overspeed loops approaching the signal it would have been brought to a stand. So some very impressive work by the driver to bring the speed down quick enough to buy time for the signaller without using full ‘emergency’ brake which would also presumably have stopped the train.

It all depends on when the first passcom activation was. If the driver was then thinking "I'll call the signaller and get put in at Huntingdon" then he would/could be reducing speed ahead of the junction, regardless of the signal aspects, which buys the signaller time to re-set the route. No doubt an OTMR download, matched with signalling data logs would give a fuller picture.

 

[sharpley]

Being reported by various media outlets the driver served in the Royal Navy for 17 years, including a tour of Iraq during the 2nd Gulf war clearing mines. Experience in keeping calm under pressure certainly showed last night.

 

[357]

I’m familiar with the general layout of the area. Reading the post from @Vexed shows that the junction signal clears from red to green 14 seconds ahead of 1Y90 passing it. If 1Y90 had tripped the TPWS overspeed loops approaching the signal it would have been brought to a stand. So some very impressive work by the driver to bring the speed down quick enough to buy time for the signaller without using full ‘emergency’ brake which would also presumably have stopped the train.

Firstly there's nothing to say the driver was still doing line speed when the route was taken back. Many times I've reduced my speed and told the signaller "I'm still moving but you can put the signal back".

Secondly, I can pretty much assure you that the driver wasn't careering towards a red hoping it'll change on approach and that he won't trip the grids. This is especially important considering the close proximity of the train in front.

Thirdly, 14 seconds seems about right in an electric train that's stopped or rolling towards a red - generally most stock I've driven (both electric and diesel) has an acceleration rate of about 1mph per second from a stand. The driver is going to have been waiting for the signal to clear and likely applied full power as soon as it did. I'm confident that from a standing start I could clear the overlap in 14 seconds at this location.

I do recall you once questioned in the past if I'm a driver - so I'll clarify that I am a driver and I also sign the route/location where this incident happened, but not the traction.