Three members of a Northern train presentation team quickly saved a woman who had climbed onto railway tracks and was apparently in distress at a station in County Durham.

Connor Strover, Phil Williams and Keith James were working at the station on a night shift last month. While they were cleaning a train at a County Durham station, they noticed a woman who seemed to be distressed.

Keith James went to speak to the woman while she was still on the platform, but she walked off and climbed onto the railway line.

Connor Strover and Phil Williams called to a despatcher, who alerted the control room which notified the driver of an oncoming train.

After being informed that all incoming trains had been stopped, Connor, Phil, Keith and the dispatcher climbed down onto the track to speak to the woman and convince her to return to safety.

After the incident and following a review, walkie-talkies were presented to the team so in future they can immediately respond to welfare concerns and communicate with all staff at the station.

All the mental health support options available to someone in any area are available through Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope app.

Everyone was in the right place and if they weren’t it could have ended very differently.
The driver saw the despatch baton was on red and managed to stop around 20 metres in front of her, it was close. Someone must have been looking out for her.

As soon as we saw her that night, we knew something was off because of the way she walked past our train.

It’s not part of the job, but everyone kept their cool, reacted quickly and listened to instructions.
We were all shaken up afterwards, but the fact she’s OK and getting the help she needs has been a huge morale boost for the team.

Connor Strover, Northern train presentation team member

Earlier this month, Tricia Williams, Northern’s Managing Director, and Jason Wade, Northern’s Regional Director met with Connor Strover, Phil Williams and Keith James to thank them personally for their quick actions.

We’re incredibly proud of our team for going above and beyond to save someone from serious harm.

Our staff frequently step in to help people in distress on the rail network and manage to react quickly and remain calm in incredibly stressful situations.

Tricia Williams, Northern managing director