Quick thinking by a train conductor who works for Northern has helped to save a woman’s life on a train in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire.

Liam King has been praised for his actions after he noticed a woman had fallen ill and lost consciousness on a service in September.

His quick reactions helped to save the customer’s life.

Liam, aged 27, alerted his driver and contacted the emergency services, before performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to try to revive the woman.

Although he managed to revive the woman, she again stopped breathing and Liam resumed performing CPR until paramedics arrived and got on the train at Middlesbrough station.

Liam King has worked for Northern for four years.

As a result of his alertness and swift actions, he has been nominated for a Life Saver Award in the 2024 RailStaff Awards that will be held at an awards ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday, 28 November.

As well as having staff with the necessary knowledge to perform CPR, Northern staff are being trained to help protect vulnerable passengers, which may be due to abuse, addiction, intimidation, or mental distress.

Also, to help heart attack victims, many of Northern’s stations now have a defibrillator, including every station in South Yorkshire.

“I was just glad I could do my bit and she was all right. I knew CPR because I had been on a training course with my old job. It’s one of those things you never think you’re going to have to use but it obviously came in handy. I remained pretty calm when it was happening but afterwards I took a step back and realised what happened.
“Her partner was on the train a few weeks ago. He explained what happened and put her on the phone so she could thank me. I was nice to get some recognition for what happened. But the main thing is she’s okay.”

Liam King, Northern train conductor