THE heroic Huntingdon train driver who is “shaken up” after saving lives with his quick thinking is a Royal Navy and Iraq War veteran.
Andrew Johnson, from Peterborough, made the emergency stop at Huntingdon station just minutes after being alerted to the stabbing rampage.
His quick thinking allowed armed police to respond and saved lives, as reported by the Telegraph.
It’s understood the train was due to go past Huntingdon station on a fast track that doesn’t stop at the platform.
But brave LNER staff had alerted passengers through a tannoy system and Mr Johnson worked with signallers to divert the train.
Mr Johnson has worked as a train driver since 2018, and is understood to have served in the Royal Navy for 17 years.
He was reportedly deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the second Gulf War and is understood to have worked on a ship clearing mines in the Tigris river.
Mr Johnson was fundraising for the Royal British Legion at his local supermarket just days before the horror unfolded on board.
A neighbour said: “He’s a nice guy. I’ve known him for a while.
“If he did the right thing and stopped the train, that’s a massive thing and he’s probably helped save some people’s lives.
“It’s a pretty bold thing to do. You don’t know what’s going on [in the carriage] if you’re a train driver.”
An Aslef trade union officer said Mr Johnson is “shaken up” but did “exactly the right thing”.
Nigel Roebuck, who leads negotiations with LNER, told Sky News he’s “getting a great level of support”.
He continued: “He’s good. He was clearly shaken up and obviously we didn’t get too into detail about things.
“It sounds as if he did exactly the right thing when the emergency developed in that he didn’t stop the train in the middle of two stations where it’s obviously difficult for the emergency services to reach, but he carried on going until he got to Huntingdon.”
In an update this evening cops confirmed a 32-year-old British national, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the bloody horror, is now being treated as the only suspect .
A 35-year-old man from London, who was also detained at the scene, has now been released with no further action – as the BTP confirmed he had no involvement.
The 32-year-old suspect, from Peterborough, is understood to have boarded the train at Peterborough station.
Five casualties have now been discharged from hospital and one remains in a life-threatening condition.
The victim fighting for their life is a “heroic” 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,” said a BTP spokesperson.
More than 30 officers, including some armed, rushed to Huntingdon station after the train from Doncaster to Kings Cross made an emergency stop at 7.44pm.
A man with a large knife was reported to have been detained, with a video shared with The Sun showing the dramatic moment a suspect was Tasered and cuffed on the train platform.
Viorel, 42, the taxi driver who took the video, said before the man was arrested he was shouting “kill me, kill me, kill me” to the officers.
Witnesses have described hearing victims screaming as other frantic passengers hid in the toilets amid the bloody chaos – and an elderly man was slashed as he tried to defend a young woman.
Another passenger told how she cheated death after the attacker came at her with a knife and pledged: “The devil’s not going to win.”
Dayna Arnold, 48, was sat in the same train carriage as the attacker after boarding at Peterborough with her partner Andy Gray, 37.
Huntingdon horror timeline: 15 minutes of terror
- 18:25: Train heading to King’s Cross London departs from Doncaster
- 19:29: Train departs Peterborough station and knife attack begins soon after
- 19:39: Cambridge Police receives distress calls of multiple stabbings onboard a train
- 19.42: British Transport Police records its first call and dispatches officers
- 19:44: Train makes emergency stop at Huntingdon station
- 19.50 Within eight minutes of the call to BTP, two suspects are apprehended by armed officers
- 20:47: BTP announce on X that two people were arrested
- Sunday: Police confirm one of those arrested was released with no further action
She fell to the floor as panicked crowds surged through the aisle when he started plunging his blade into “anyone he could find”.
Site manager Dayna, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, said: “I was going with the crowd but then I got knocked into some seats.
“I looked back and saw the knifeman running so I slid down to the floor. He came at me with the knife and I begged ‘please don’t’.
“Then something shifted in his face and he just carried on. I feel very fortunate to still be alive.
“Then a minute or so later he came back through, looked at me again and said ‘the devil’s not going to win’ and continued on.
“I was waiting cause I could still hear him in the carriage. I heard the doors open and ran off the train.
“I saw him take off running and then minutes later police rushed past me and I saw him get tasered by the taxi rank.”
Staff at the nearby Wetherspoon pub Sandford House let her and friend Andy stay overnight for free before catching a bus home yesterday.
His jumper was still covered in blood stains after using his trouser belt to stop a young man from bleeding to death on the horror train.
The project manager, from Peterborough, said: “We were only on the train for about five minutes when it all kicked off.
“The attacker was at the back end of carriage J while we were at the front. We were ordering drinks and food and stuff like that.
“We just heard this sudden commotion and panic of people’s voices. I looked down and saw this huge knife plunging into people.
“I got out of the seat and grabbed Dayna to get her out but her bag strap got caught on the seat. The wall of people that were panicking swept me away and we were separated.
“A young lad there was only 19 or 20 and had been cut and stabbed really badly. He had a gash on his arm and had several puncture wounds under his arm.
“He somehow got past me and was panicking walking through saying ‘please somebody help me, I’ve been stabbed’.
“I looked and saw how bad it was. There was a lot of blood coming out and it looked like an artery bleed.
“I took my belt off to create a makeshift tourniquet and sat him down to string his arm up.
“The attacker was just stabbing anybody who he could find. I don’t know how it started or why. I only saw one guy but apparently there was two arrests.
“If we were sat at the front of that carriage, that could have been me covered in stab wounds. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all night.”
Eye witness Olly Foster said he heard passengers shout “run, run” as carnage broke out.
He told the BBC: “There were a few of us kind of looking at each other, thinking was it a joke – like, it’s Halloween, they might be pranking.
“But then you could kind of see in their faces they were running.
“There was a girl, bless her, who was really, really in a bit of a state because the guy actually tried to stab her – and one of the older guys who was an absolute hero blocked it with his head.”
The train remains at the station as part of a crime scene, with a cordon still in place as forensic officers collect evidence.
Counter Terrorism Policing were called in to support the ongoing probe.
The force declared a “major incident” and at one stage declared “Plato”, the national code word used by police and emergency services when responding to a “marauding terror attack”.
However, British Transport Police Superintendent John Loveless told a briefing on Sunday morning that there is nothing to suggest the stabbings were a terrorist incident – with Defence Secretary John Healey earlier saying it is believed to have been an “isolated attack”.
David Horne, managing director of LNER, said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by yesterday’s incident and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected, particularly our colleague who remains in a life-threatening condition, and their family.
“I would like to thank the emergency services for their quick and professional response and the care they provided to those injured.
“I would also like to recognise the driver, crew and our operational response colleagues for their bravery and quick actions.
“This is a deeply upsetting incident. Over the coming days we will continue to co-operate with the authorities involved and will do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues during this very difficult time.”
The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the incident as “deeply concerning”.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales have said their thoughts are with all those affected by the Huntingdon attack.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson told reporters: “I spoke to the Prince of Wales this morning and he also asked me to express his and the Princess of Wales’ thoughts for the families and friends of all those impacted by the horrific events last night near Huntingdon.
“He also wishes for me to express his thoughts are also with the first responders and train staff that acted so swiftly.”
