Nick Johnson
Reporting from Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge

Addenbrooke’s Hospital is a major trauma centre for the whole of eastern England.

That means it is a specialist centre with specially trained staff who deal with serious injuries and illnesses.

We know many of the victims from last night’s stabbing have been treated here.

Four have since been discharged, but Cambridge University Hospitals Trust - which runs Addenbrooke’s - has confirmed that the two victims who remain in a life-threatening condition are both receiving treatment here.

James Kelly
BBC News

Warning: This post contains distressing details

Joe, who has asked that we only use his first name, describes the chaotic scene that unfolded when he and other passengers realised there was a man with a "bloodied" knife onboard their London-bound train and he was heading in their direction.

"You need to run, you need to run!" were the words other passengers shouted at him in his carriage after they saw the suspected attacker.

Moments earlier, the 24-year-old from south London had been listening to music, scrolling football news on his phone. After a trip north to see Nottingham Forest with his mum, he was on his way home.

"At first it didn't really register what was going on," he says. "I just dropped my stuff and I started running along with them."

When he turned his head, he could make out a tall man gripping a bloodied knife following them through the moving train.

"The thing that was in my mind was we're running through this train now, but what if we run out of carriages to run through? What if we reach the end of the train? What happens there?"

When the train slowed to an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon, he followed passengers as they began to pile out onto the platform.

He didn't stop running until he reached the station car park, where he hid behind a car.

"I was just seeing people like walking out in different directions that were just covered in blood," he adds. "It was literally like something out of a movie. It was terrible."

Kris Bramwell
BBC News

Warning: This post contains distressing details

Tom McLachlan,19, was travelling in the back of the train - away from the train car where we understand the attack unfolded.

He says he realised something was wrong when he heard the alarm sound going off multiple times and spotted several people trying to move away from the middle carriages as someone shouted: "He's been stabbed."

Panic then set in. “I saw several people get off the train absolutely covered in blood," he says.

Once the train made an unscheduled stop in Huntingdon, he and other passengers rushed off the train. Tom then tried to help one of the victims "who’d been stabbed in the back by applying pressure" but had to start running again.

"Only seconds later, everyone started running as the attacker had exited the train and still had the knife, so I had to leave the injured man and ran away from the station for my own safety," he says.

"The emergency response followed shortly after so the injured man was helped very quickly."

Can we make the rail network safe from knives?published at 14:17 GMT 2 November 2025

14:17 GMT 2 November 2025

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The stabbing on the Doncaster to London express is a reminder that our rail network is vulnerable to people carrying weapons like knives.

There is no airline-style security at railway stations, and there are very rarely police officers on trains.

The guards that travel on intercity trains are partly there to ensure customers' safety, but cannot protect passengers from a man wielding a knife.

There will be more British Transport Police officers on trains over the next few days, but it would be far too expensive to put officers armed with Tasers on every train, when you consider the huge number of trains that travel at rush hour in and around the UK's major cities.

The same problem applies to security at stations where people board the trains. It would be almost impossible to have knife arches and x-ray machines at every station.

So at the moment it is a vulnerability that we have to accept. Thankfully crimes of extreme violence on trains are rare.

Travel expert Simon Calder has been telling the BBC News channel about the procedures in place for an incident like last night's stabbing attack.

The driver "managed to contact the control centre at Network Rail and get the train diverted onto the slow line", Calder says.

"That was absolutely crucial because this train was scheduled to be travelling through Huntingdon station on the tracks with no platform at 125mph."

"It didn't stop in the middle of nowhere, which would have been very difficult."

Calder thinks this was handled in the "safest possible way" thanks to the "incredible professionalism from the driver and the police". Train drivers are trained on how to take appropriate action, he adds.

• Earlier, we laid out how the attack unfolded, using timings shared by police and eyewitnesses. We also looked at the train's journey and why it ended up in Huntingdon.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Cassie Marriott

Warning: This post contains distressing details

I have spoken to Cassie Marriot, who was at Huntingdon train station at 20:00 GMT last night because her mother lives across the road.

Cassie tells me she tried to help people who had come off the train, in shock.

“I met one young lad standing on his own – he looked shell shocked – he had blood all over his legs. We asked if he was okay and he said ‘its not my blood.'"

"I met another young girl, who was about 18 or 19. She told me she was listening to music on the train when a man tried to stab her. She said someone pulled her out of the way."

"She looked absolutely petrified. She had left all her belongings including her phone on the train, the only thing she was carrying was a vape."

Cassie says there were police and ambulances everywhere but "the atmosphere was silent" at the station.

"There were helicopters above but the people who came off the train were calm and silent - everyone was in total shock."

James Kelly
BBC News

Warning: This post contains distressing details

I've been speaking to Alistair Day, who was travelling back to Hertford on Saturday after watching Nottingham Forest play Manchester United at the former's ground, when he missed his connection and boarded the Doncaster to London King's Cross service.

The 58-year-old tells the BBC he was beside the buffet car when he saw people running towards him.

"I thought it was like a prank - Halloween or students." he says. "Then they're getting louder and louder."

Alistair continues, saying that when he saw people had blood on them, he realised "this is not good".

He and others then tried to make their way into the buffet car - but people "were trying to close up the shutters". Alistair says he stepped in and told them "no, you've got to let us in".

He then describes seeing "a man at the window with his knife" trying to get in, but by then the buffet car was already locked. He also remembers a man in a Nottingham Forest tracksuit saying: "I'm gonna go confront him."

"He wasn't the biggest guy and we tried to stop him," Alistair says, adding that he later saw the same man "on the platform afterwards, flat-out, covered in blood".

Another man, Alistair says, told him he'd been stabbed in the chest. The man remained very calm, Alistair recalls, before he and other passengers in the buffet car put pressure on the man's wound.

"I just want to know he's OK."

Steve was on the train with his two children when the stabbing happened.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme he was told the incident happened by coach J of the train - while he and his children were in coach B.

While he didn't see the attack, he says he heard a train announcement saying: “We are aware there is an incident. Just keep yourself safe."

Steve says it was "scary to hear" as he wasn't aware of what was actually happening: "It was just unnerving not knowing what was happening and knowing you were basically in a box, and you couldn't get out of it."

Once the train stopped at Huntingdon station, passengers hammered on the door and shouted down “What should we do?" to the train crew on the platform "because I didn't know whether we should get off, or stay on the train." Steve says the staff "didn't know" either.

He said he and his children ultimately ran out of the station and to someone's house, where an elderly couple looked after them until it was safe to leave.

"The kids are very shaken up by it, but dealing with it very well," he says. "I'm so grateful that everyone in my family is safe."

Image source, EPA

Passengers can expect "a high visibility presence" of police at railway stations and on trains today to "reassure the public", says Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

Alexander says she's receiving regular updates from British Transport Police and LNER about last night's stabbing attack - as she adds train traffic in the Huntingdon area has now resumed.

"Trains are now running in the area, however Huntingdon station remains closed with trains passing through," she says in a statement shared on X.

She thanks the public for their "patience and co-operation" as she pays an "enormous tribute" to the train staff and officers who responded last night.

Throughout the day we've been hearing from eyewitnesses, about what they saw, and police about how they dealt with this incident.

Let's now look at how the stabbings unfolded, based on timings that've been shared by those people.

• At 18:25, the LNER Azuma train leaves Doncaster station in South Yorkshire, making a routine journey south to London King's Cross. It's dark outside and the train is not crowded, witnesses say
• Approximately an hour later, eyewitness Olly Foster says he heard people shouting "run, run, there's a guy literally stabbing everyone". Within minutes, people start pushing through the carriage
• The first distress calls reach Cambridgeshire police at 19:39. A few minutes later, at 19:42, British Transport Police records their first call
• Eight minutes later, at around 19:50, the train makes an unscheduled stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and armed police board the train and arrest two men
• The train remains stationary at Platform 2 as police establish a crime scene and ambulances rush those injured to hospital
• Just before 23:00, images show unharmed passengers being put on buses and taken to London, where their journey was meant to end

Image source, EPA

We've some more political reaction to bring you now, after we heard from Defence Secretary John Healey and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch earlier.

Responding to the stabbing attack, Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey says he is "horrified", and his thoughts are with those affected.

He also reminds the public that there are "stories of passengers who stepped forward to protect others", saying: "At a moment of such fear and chaos, we also saw extraordinary bravery."

• An eyewitness told the BBC earlier that an older man blocked the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving himself with a gash on his head and neck.

Meanwhile, Reform UK's Head of Policy Zia Yusuf describes what happened as a "horrific" tragedy.

Asked by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg if he thinks the government should increase security at stations, he says it's "a very difficult one" and that it'd cause enormous friction in day-to-day life for to law-abiding people.

Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says her thoughts are "with the victims, their friends and family" after last night’s "horrific" attack.

She expresses her "deepest thanks" to the police and fire services.

"They responded rapidly, with the utmost professionalism and saved lives," she says.

She also pays tribute to the "exceptional bravery of staff and passengers on the train."

"We now know this attack is not being treated as terrorism, and that two British-born, British nationals have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing, and I am receiving regular updates from the police."

We've just received a statement from King Charles in response to last night's incident. Here it is in full:

"My wife and I were truly appalled and shocked to hear of the dreadful knife attack that took place on board a train in Cambridgeshire last night.

"Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with all those affected, and their loved ones.

"We are particularly grateful to the emergency services for their response to this awful incident."

Image source, Getty Images

We've just heard from British Transport Police with an update outside Huntingdon station about last night's stabbing attack.

Here's a recap of everything we now know:

• Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an incident on board a London-bound train. They are a 32-year-old black British man and a 35-year-old British man of Caribbean descent
• Eleven people in total were treated in hospital following the incident. Two remain in a life-threatening condition while four have since been discharged
• Police say there is nothing to suggest it is a terrorist incident and have asked the public to come forward with any more information
• Armed officers boarded the train and arrested the two suspects within eight minutes of the first 999 calls from passengers, who raised the alarm at about 19:42

What we don't yet know:

• Police have not given a motive for the attack and say it's not appropriate to speculate
• They have also not released the identities of the two men now in police custody
• We still have no update on who the 11 people injured in the attack are

Police quick to identify nationality and race of suspects as misinformation spreadspublished at 10:59 GMT 2 November 2025

10:59 GMT 2 November 2025

Sima Kotecha
Senior UK correspondent

Police were quick to identify the nationality and race of the two men arrested.

This comes after misinformation brewed on social media about their background and heritage.

Police guidance encourages forces to disclose these details, especially after the spread of dangerous misinformation following the 2024 Southport murders.

At the time, a post on social media said the suspect was a Muslim immigrant - a claim that was entirely false and triggered riots.

Loveless asks the public to get in touch if they have more information.

Members of the public can text British Transport Police on 61016 quoting reference 663, if they have information connected to yesterday's incident - however big or small.

The update has now concluded but we'll continue to bring you the latest developments on this page.

Loveless says 10 people were initially taken to hospital, with one more person self-presenting at hospital later in the evening.

Of the nine people believed to have life-threatening injuries, four have since been discharged. Two people remain in a life-threatening condition.

"At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident," Loveless says. "At this stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the cause of this incident."

Supt John Loveless says armed officers boarded the train and arrested two people within eight minutes of the 999 calls.

There are two men in police custody.

They are a 32-year-old black British male and 35-year-old British national of Caribbean descent.

They have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

We're hearing an update now from British Transport Police.

We'll be bringing you the latest lines right here, and you can watch live at the top of this page.

Jo Black
Reporting from Huntingdon train station

Reporters are gathered outside Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire as we wait to hear from British Transport Police.

We had been expecting a news conference to begin at around 10:00 GMT - we've not had an update yet, but we'll bring you the latest as we get it.