Train driver heard screams of 'knifeman stabbing people'

The driver of an LNER train heard screams of 'there's a knifeman stabbing people' through a door microphone, Cambridge Crown Court heard. Andrew Johnson, who was operating the service, brought the train to an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station, Cambridgeshire, on November 1 last year.

Mr Johnson told the court that the train, travelling at 122mph near Abbots Ripton, activated an alarm indicating someone was trying to open a passenger door. He had approximately 10 seconds to react and move the train to the slow line to stop at Huntingdon. He had initially thought someone was 'messing around' when he could not get a response over the loudspeaker.

He described the scream he later heard as 'terrifying'. The train, travelling from Doncaster to London King's Cross, had already passed through Peterborough. Its next scheduled stop was Stevenage.

Denials in court

Anthony Williams, 33, denies attempting to murder 10 people on the LNER train. He also faces charges of attempted murder relating to incidents in Peterborough on October 31 and to a 17-year-old boy at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of November 1.

Judge Mr Justice Calver informed the jury that the question of whether Williams carried out the attacks is not in dispute. The court must determine if he intended to kill.

Passenger accounts

James Tomlinson, a passenger on the train, told jurors in a video interview that a man was shouting, 'I've got a knife, I'm not afraid to use it, we're all going to die today'. Mr Tomlinson stated the voice was deep and sounded serious, indicating 'there was no turn back'.

Another passenger, Alice Ward, described seeing a 'conga of people running through' a carriage before hearing that someone had been stabbed. She recalled a man serving food suggesting people 'stick together'. Ms Ward described the alleged attacker as looking 'completely deranged' and shouting incoherently.

The trial continues at Cambridge Crown Court.