Huntingdon train attack driver had ’10 seconds’ to change line

Andrew Johnson, the driver of a high-speed London-bound LNER train, recounted the tense moments leading up to an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon on 1 November last year, when a stabbing attack unfolded on board. Speaking at Cambridge Crown Court, Johnson explained that he had about 10 seconds to decide to divert the train to the slow line after hearing on the intercom that “there’s a knifeman stabbing people.” The incident took place as the train travelled through Cambridgeshire at approximately 122 mph (196 km/h), running “bang on time” near Abbots Ripton.

Johnson described the situation as rapidly escalating after an alarm indicated someone was trying to open a passenger door. He said the train’s safety system would have immediately brought the train to a halt unless he overrode it within five seconds. Despite attempting to communicate through the intercom, Johnson initially thought it was a prank, recounting, “Saturday night, someone’s messing around.” However, the urgent screams about the knife attack convinced him that the best course of action was to reach a platform as quickly as possible. Without hesitation, he pressed the urgent button and instructed a signaller to direct the train to Huntingdon while alerting the police.

The court heard that the train stopped at Huntingdon at 19:44 GMT, and Johnson had to manually override the automatic door system to allow passengers to disembark since the stop was unscheduled. He noticed the urgency as passengers fled the train, saying, “they didn’t just run, they sprinted like I’d never seen before.” Throughout the chaotic incident, Johnson never saw the attacker, Anthony Williams, who is accused of attempting to murder 10 individuals on the train. Williams, 33, from Peterborough, denies the charges related to this event.

In addition to the train attack, prosecutors allege that Williams attempted to kill three people in Peterborough on 31 October and a teenager on a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) train in east London in the early hours of 1 November. While it is accepted that Williams was responsible for these violent acts, the trial focuses on whether he had the intention to kill. The proceedings are ongoing as jurors continue to consider the evidence presented