Ten hurt in stabbing attacks on LNER train
Ten people have been hurt, nine seriously, in a series of stabbing attacks on board an LNER train last night. The train was the 18.25 from Doncaster to London King’s Cross, and it is believed that the attacks began after the train had called at Peterborough. The driver made an emergency stop at Huntingdon after the alarm was raised, where armed police were able to meet the train. The reason for the attacks is unknown, but two people have been arrested.
The rise in the number of National Rail passengers since the effects of Covid lockdowns five years ago caused an artificial slump is continuing. Passengers made a total of 451 million journeys between April and June this year, according to the Office of Rail and Road, which said this was a 7 per cent increase when compared with the same three months in 2024. Revenue and passenger kilometres were also up.
Virgin Group will be able to run international services from London through the Channel Tunnel as the result of a decision by the Office and Rail and Road to allow it to use Temple Mills depot, which has been occupied exclusively by Eurostar since 2007. The decision will be a setback for competitors Evolyn, Gemini and Trenitalia, but the ORR said it considered that ‘Virgin Trains has the strongest prospects of making the best use of capacity at Temple Mills’.
The collapse of Humberside-based airline Eastern Airways has left many passengers without the flight they were expecting, but several railway operators have offered to help. Free travel is available to passengers with confirmed airline documents, such as a boarding pass or staff ID.
FirstGroup has submitted a new application to the Office of Rail and Road for more open access services. First said it was the ‘first phase’ of three separate applications which it will be making to the regulator. They include a new route between Cardiff and York, and a second attempt to run between London and Rochdale which the ORR refused in July.
Rail minister Lord Hendy is visiting Britain’s newest station today, after it opened to passengers yesterday morning. Beaulieu Park in north Chelmsford has three platforms, 705 parking spaces, a public transport interchange and over 500 cycle spaces. The first train to call on Sunday morning was the 07.20 to London Liverpool Street.
Northern has recorded its busiest month since before the Covid pandemic, with more than 8.1 million journeys made on its network between 14 September and 11 October. The figure marks an 8.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, and is the highest number of journeys on Northern in a four-week railway period since February 2020.