Train driver makes extra stop to help stranded couple get home after party

A couple has hailed a ‘Christmas miracle’ after a train driver added an extra stop to their midnight journey to drop them off at their local station.

Kirill Tsukanov, 35, and his wife Marina, 25, feared being stranded after missing the last train to their home town of Shelford on Friday night.

After a desperate appeal to train operator Greater Anglia, the route from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge was changed to include a stop at Shelford.

The act of goodwill saved the couple from being stuck miles away from home in the middle of the night.

Kirill told Metro: ‘I was very touched by this gesture. They didn’t have to help, I didn’t have any grand justification for why I was late. They went above and beyond.’

The bioinformatician explained that he and his wife were exhausted after an ‘intense’ week at work when they decided to travel to London to see their friend’s photography exhibition.

But after getting carried away chatting at the after-party, the pair lost track of time and missed the last train back home to Shelford at 11.28pm.

‘We saw the train disappearing into the distance,’ Kirill said.

Desperate to make it back, they took the 11.58pm direct train to Cambridge, prepared to fork out for a hefty cab fee home from either Whittlesford Parkway or Cambridge.

Thinking ‘nothing would happen’, Kirill took to X to ask Greater Anglia to make a ‘really short additional stop in Shelford’.

‘My wife and I missed the 11.28pm service unfortunately, so we would really warmly appreciate it,’ he wrote.

The train operator first replied that they weren’t sure and that they would contact the relevant team.

Kirill recalled: ‘Then 15 minutes after that, the train information display rebooted and the train announced a new pattern that included Shelford.

‘I couldn’t believe my ears. Greater Anglia then confirmed on X it would stop at Shelford.’

Marina, who had been napping during the journey, was then stunned when she woke up as the train was pulling into Shelford at 1.11am.

Greater Anglia’s generosity meant the pair’s evening wasn’t ruined, and they’ve come away inspired to do good of their own.

‘It has got me thinking about how I can help people in my life,’ Kirill explained.

‘So I made an appointment to give blood for the NHS and I think I’ll do it on a regular basis.’

Greater Anglia was nationalised in October and is one of seven train companies that will be rebranded as Great British Railways next year.

In 2024 it was the UK’s most punctual railway firm, with 87.2 per cent of its services arriving within 60 seconds of their scheduled time.

A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: ‘Delivering excellent customer service is always really important to us, so we were pleased to be able to help Mr Tsukanov and his wife with their journey home on Friday night, by stopping a service additionally at Shelford.

‘An extra station stop, outside of planned timetables and schedules, is not normally possible, not least because it may result in additional delays to other passengers or services.

‘However, occasionally, in exceptional circumstances, a special stop order, where a train stops additionally at a station where it was not originally booked to call, may be arranged.

‘This is dependent on several factors, including the practicality of doing so and the potential consequences for other services and other passengers. In this case, we were able to do so without any adverse consequences, and we were happy to help.’

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