Mark Gardner

Said the following about Gary Underwood:

“Gary was caught up in a near miss when driving 2M74 from Leeds to Manchester Victoria, when approaching Sowerby Bridge station he noticed a female encroaching on the railway from a tree line. He immediately applied the emergency brakes on the train, bringing it to a stand a few metres away from the lady who was now walking towards the unit. At this stage he used to GSMR to give an emergency broadcast to the signaller and make any trains in the area aware that there was a suicidal female on or near the line.

Once he had confirmation that both running lines were safe, he decided to follow the lady who had now stalking walking in the cess on the opposite line and was nearing the rear of his unit. He had to walk quickly to catch up with the lady, eventually trying to reason with her and calm her down, the female the clearly intoxicated and unwilling to listen to Gary which proved to be an extremely difficult situation to deal with. He persevered and walked alongside the lady, continuing to engage in conversation until he noticed the arrival of the British Transport Police.

He briefed the officers and explained her intentions throughout were to kill herself either in front of his train, or the next approaching train. Luckily Gary has ensured the safety of the line immediately so the ladies life was never in danger from this point, the calm approach he applied guaranteed everyone’s safety and ensuring he remained with the lady resulted her being taken into custody and offered the relevant care she needed.

These can be extremely upsetting times for all involved but Gary dealt with it in a professional and calm manner, with exceptional results.“