Heroic London Northwestern Railway staff honoured for life saving suicide intervention

A train driver and guard who worked together to save the life of a vulnerable man during a dramatic incident on the railway in Cheshire have been honoured for their actions.

London Northwestern Railway (LNR) driver Glynn Smith and senior conductor Jessie Hinds-Taylor were operating a service on the approach to Alsager station when from behind the controls Glynn found himself face-to-face with a man standing on the tracks.

Glynn was able to stop in time before Jessie exited the train and managed to persuade the man, who was in state of extreme distress, to climb on board to receive help before being taken into the care of the emergency services.

Following the incident in March 2024, Glynn and Jessie, who are both based at LNR’s depot at Crewe, have been honoured for their actions by the company and received Life Saver awards.

Jamie Ainsworth, health, safety, security and environment director at LNR, said: “We offer training to all our frontline colleagues on how to deal with individuals in a state of distress but putting the theory into practice is incredibly challenging.

“We are very proud of the actions taken by Glynn and Jessie during this incident, which undoubtedly saved a man’s life. Their actions are a dramatic example of the thousands of interventions, big and small, made by colleagues across the network every year.”

Speaking about the incident, Glynn said: “I quickly applied the brakes and asked Jessie to get off the train and talk to the man. She displayed so much compassion and managed to persuade him to board. In my 11 years at the company, this was the first time I’ve encountered this kind of situation, and I’m truly grateful we were there to help.”

Jessie added: “The man was trying to harm himself. It was a really scary incident to be involved in but I am just glad that we were able to help him that day.”

Also honoured with a Life Saver award was Andrew Mclellan, a senior conductor based in New Street station. Andrew was celebrated for comforting and ensuring the safety of an individual on the platform in November last year, after they disclosed that they wanted to end their life.

Network Rail estimates nearly 2,000 suicide attempts on the railway were intervened in by rail employees, police and the public in the past year. This includes 443 interventions across the West Coast main line where London Northwestern Railway services operate.

London Northwestern Railway manages the risks of rail suicide in partnership with Network and the British Transport Police. This includes training railway employees to look out for and offer support to people who may be vulnerable and working in partnership with Samaritans and other charities to de-stigmatise suicide.

If a member of the public notices someone on the platform displaying behaviour that could indicate a suicide attempt, they should speak to staff or text the British Transport Police on 61016.