An Iraq war and Royal Navy veteran has been identified as the driver whose quick-thinking saved the lives of passengers on the train he was driving.
Peterborough man, Andrew Johnson, diverted the train heading to London to Huntingdon station within minutes of being told about the mass stabbing, The Telegraph reported.
Mr Johnson’s actions allowed a quick response from emergency services.
The man is understood to have finished his career as a Chief Petty Officer and worked as a weapons engineer.
He had served in the Royal Navy for 17 years and deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the second Gulf War.
Mr Johnson is understood to have been working as a train driver since 2018.
The veteran is believed to have served aboard a ship during the Iraq War.
He was on a team tasked with removing mines in the Tigris river.
Andrew Johnson has been identified as the train driver
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The train parked at Huntingdon following the attack
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GETTYMr Johnson still supports former servicemen and fundraises for the Royal British Legion, even in the days before the attack on Saturday.
The LNER service left from Doncaster at 6.25pm and was on its way to King’s Cross, having left Peterborough station at 7.30pm when the knife attack started.
Witnesses recounted people fleeing as they ran out of the train as others retreated to the toilets.
One passenger said train seats were covered in blood which felt “like something from a film”.
Another passenger on the train, Olly Foster, told The Telegraph that the first time hearing of the attack was when someone ran past him shouting: “Run, run, run”.
“There’s a guy stabbing literally everyone and everything,” he added.
Police arrested two British men who are being held by police on suspicion of attempted murder after the knife rampage.
It saw 11 people taken to hospital due to sustaining injuries.
Two people remain in a life-threatening condition.
Train staff and members of the public have acknowledged Mr Johnson’s actions, noting the high speed train has narrow carriages and there were few places to hide.
They say it could have been worse had he not have stopped when he did.
Within minutes of the attack, LNER staff declared an emergency, telling passengers about the situation over the train’s tannoy system.
While the train was supposed to travel through Huntingdon station at speed, the driver, crew and signallers diverted the train to allow emergency services to get on board.
The train stopped at Huntingdon only 14 minutes after leaving Peterborough where armed police, paramedics and air ambulance responded.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the “exceptional bravery of staff and passengers” while Sir Keir Starmer said it was an “appalling incident” which was “deeply concerning”.
RMT Rail Union praised the train staff on Sunday with the General Secretary Eddie Dempsey saying: “I want to commend the professionalism, bravery and steadfastness of all the railway workers involved from the train crew to the driver and our members in operations, who quickly assisted in diverting the King’s Cross bound train to Huntingdon station”.
Mr Dempsey said it allowed emergency services to take swift action and he will be “seeking urgent meetings with Government, rail employees and police to ensure that we have the strongest possible support, resources and robust procedures in place to protect our members and the travelling public”.