Train driver had about 10 seconds to switch to slow line before Huntingdon stabbing stop
The LNER driver testified that he had roughly ten seconds to divert the high-speed train onto a slower line before making an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon during the mass stabbing incident.
The driver of the London-bound LNER service testified at Cambridge Crown Court that he had "probably about 10 seconds" to decide to switch to the slow line before the train stopped at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire on 1 November. He said the train was travelling at about 122 mph and was "bang on time" when an alarm indicated a passenger door was being forced open.
Johnson recalled hearing an intercom announcement that someone was shouting, "there's a knifeman stabbing people," and said he instructed the signaller to take the train to Huntingdon and request police assistance. He pressed the urgent button, overridden the system to stop the train, and opened the doors manually, a process that took about 15 seconds because the stop was not programmed.
Jurors heard that Johnson could hear loud banging and screaming from the cab door and that passengers on the platform were running toward the train. He said his focus was on getting the train to Huntingdon. Johnson also faces four additional attempted-murder charges linked to earlier incidents in Peterborough and east London.