‘Please don’t,’ said Dayna Arnold, 48, from Bridlington, as the knifeman loomed over her on the Doncaster–London LNER service on Saturday night. She says he paused, lowered the blade and moved on before returning to mutter, ‘the devil’s not going to win.’

Arnold and her partner, Andy Gray, had boarded at Peterborough moments earlier when panic broke out at the front of their carriage. Swept apart in the crush, she slid to the floor as the attacker came through, raised an arm to shield herself and begged him to stop.

Gray, a site manager, then helped a badly wounded passenger, using his belt as a makeshift tourniquet as others ripped clothing to stem bleeding. The couple, now back in East Yorkshire, say sleep has been hard to come by as they process what they saw.

British Transport Police (BTP) said they were called at 19:42 on 1 November to the 18:25 Doncaster–London King’s Cross service. Armed officers boarded after an emergency stop at Huntingdon; two men were arrested and 10 people were taken to hospital, with an 11th later self-presenting.

By Sunday evening, detectives confirmed they were treating a single 32-year-old suspect and that a second man arrested at the scene had been released with no further action. A member of LNER staff who intervened was praised as ‘nothing short of heroic’ and remains in a critical but stable condition.

On Monday, BTP charged Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough, with ten counts of attempted murder, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of possessing a bladed article linked to the Huntingdon train. He also faces an additional attempted murder and possession charge over an earlier incident at Pontoon Dock DLR.

Williams appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 3 November and was remanded in custody to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 1 December. Prosecutors said the charging decision followed rapid weekend reviews of CCTV and other evidence.

BTP has primacy for the wider investigation and is assessing possible links to other incidents reported in Peterborough on 31 October and earlier on 1 November, alongside the Pontoon Dock case. Officers are urging anyone with information to come forward.

Ministers said the case is not being treated as terrorism and that the suspect was not known to counter-terrorism police. Extra BTP patrols are in place to reassure passengers, though the Transport Secretary has ruled out airport-style metal detectors at stations as unworkable.

For Northern travellers who use the evening Doncaster service, the shock is close to home. LNER’s managing director thanked staff and emergency services and said support would continue for colleagues and customers affected. Arnold, meanwhile, is thinking of those still recovering: ‘We were lucky. I hope everyone hurt gets well soon.’