Melanie Foster

Said the following about Adrian Suter and London Bridge Team:

“I would like to nominate Shift Station Manager Adrian Suter and his team at London Bridge station who did a magnificent job in looking after passengers and others through the night of the tragic events on London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday, 3 June.

What happened that night

The first Adrian and the team knew of anything untoward was when a Customer Service Assistant reported hearing a loud bang and sirens just after 10pm and then communication from TFL realising that people were running towards the station. The first report from the BTP was of a ‘disturbance’ on the bridge and Adrian was only aware of the magnitude of the situation after BTP officers returned with a colleague who needed to be treated for shock.

What the station team didn’t know was that the ‘bang’ had been the van that was being driven by the terrorists mounting the pavement on London Bridge, sending pedestrians flying, and then crashing between the station and the entrance to Borough Market. The terrorists then ran from the van and began attacking anyone in their path. Officers arrived on the scene within eight minutes and immediately shot dead two of the attackers but lost one in the crowd.

Fortunately, acting on intuition and advice from experienced railway colleagues, a joint decision was made to lock down the station and was proved 100% right, as if they had evacuated the station in that half-hour before the full horror of the attack was known, passengers could have been sent running into the path of danger.

Meanwhile, trains were cancelled because when the attacks happened there were also fears that ‘suspect devices’ had been planted under other London bridges. In response to this, the station team undertook a full security sweep of the station and requested internal concession Leon to remain open and provide free teas and coffees. They also distributed blankets to keep people warm and bottles of water for hydration. A refuge point was created in the Southern drivers’ mess room.

Once it was established that all the terrorists had been apprehended and route control confirmed there had been no suspect devices found, the wider team arranged for a special train at around 00.30 to take as many people as possible to East Croydon to continue their journey home. Some 450 or so who had been using the station as a place of refuge until then took advantage of this but around 50 passengers decided to stay, as they had been due to stay at the London Bridge Hotel but had run to the station as a point of refuge during the attack.

Leadership decisions

As part of the lockdown, Adrian and the Station controllers took the decision to ‘invac’ to the lower concourse, where the team (Victoria ‘ Vicky’ Bascon, Kwame Gyamfi-Bonsu, Koin Biboye, Andrew Ejohwemu, Edgar Boz , and colleagues from Southeastern) took care of the passengers for the rest of the night. This was no easy matter, particularly as there was a diabetic, heavily pregnant lady among the members of the public. CSA Vicky took it upon herself to look after her, taking her to the First Aid room and keeping her comfortable, as well as helping with other passengers.

Above and beyond

While the rest of the CSAs, Station Controllers and train operating staff did a similarly magnificent job of keeping people calm and arranging blankets, drinks and toilet facilities, Adrian and Station Control were in constant contact with the BTP, who kept them abreast of events outside the station. They were also in close contact with Station Manager Denis Kirk, who was only able to get to the station with the help of a police escort through Borough Market in the small hours of the morning.

The morning after the evening’s events, arrangements were made by Adrian and Southern Manager, Damon Colvin, for concession Café Nero to provide breakfast and drinks for the staff and customers who were left on the station. Adrian and Damon also arranged for them to be escorted by Met and BTP officers through the cordon back to the hotel so they could be reunited with their families whom had been kept in the hotel.

Looking back on the events of that night, Adrian said he could never have imagined coping with such trauma but, when everything happened, “training kicked in.”

Even so, he was overwhelmed by the way everyone came together to do their best in a horrendous situation. As he explained, in a terrorist event, there are no set precedents to follow so, to use a rugby analogy, you have to play what’s in front of you.

Praise from the wider community

One of the passengers at London Bridge that night wrote in afterwards to thank Adrian and the team, saying: “I was one of scores of people caught up in Saturday's terrorist attack. I would like to highlight the way your wonderful staff provided not only a safe environment, but cared for us in a 100% professional way … Overcoming terror, overcoming very real fears and stepping up to be KIND.

“It made me very proud on so many levels but mostly to be a Londoner! A special mention to Victoria who went the extra mile.”

In a similar vein, a senior BTP officer wrote to Adrian, thanking him and the team: “Not only did your team provide a safe refuge for members of the public, but you also assisted me with an officer who was clearly in shock and needed some support (which due to the dynamic situation and the operational demands placed on me – I was unable to offer my complete attention to).

The team also received a letter from Jeremy Corbyn, who extended his thanks to all Network Rail staff but in particular London Bridge staff and said ‘in extremely difficult circumstances they acted in a most professional and reassuring manner.’“