Police have shot dead a man in Milton Keynes.

Officers from Thames Valley Police and British Transport Police were called to reports of a man carrying a firearm at Milton Keynes railway station at 12.55pm today.

Armed officers from Thames Valley Police responded and challenged the man, before shots were fired by police, according to the force.

Despite attempts to save the man, he was pronounced dead at 1.44pm.

Police say they do not believe there is any further risk to the public.


This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

I seem to recall a few years ago the sleeper's reliability was so poor due to constant breakdowns of the ancient engines that they took to towing an extra one along to act as a mobile source of spares to be cannibalised if necessary , scarcely credible.

It's excellent - How does that compare to others with dedicated stations such as Southampton and Gatwick on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) network?

Best in the country! About 50 yards max from platform to check in desks

Internal notes suggest it was overnight cabling works which overran.  Perhaps someone in the dead of night misread that as overhead cabling works?

That set stables overnight in the Down Siding at Hereford.  The one that comes up from Stoke Gifford now forms the 07:13 GMV^▸ (Great Malvern station)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

On the 1st of April, 1952, Adelaide’s railway network played host to one of the most ambitious and baffling experiments in public transport history—the triple-decker train. Conceived as a bold tourism initiative to showcase South Australia’s landscapes from an elevated perspective, these towering locomotives were designed to revolutionise rail travel and bring visitors flocking to the state.


Each train featured three stacked levels of passenger compartments, with the topmost deck offering panoramic windows for breathtaking views of the Adelaide Hills, the rolling Barossa vineyards, and the vast outback beyond. The middle level provided standard seating, while the lower level was reserved for dining cars and, in a questionable design choice, bicycle storage.
However, the reality of the triple-decker train was far less glamorous than intended. Almost immediately, problems arose. The sheer height of the carriages made them unstable on curves, leading to alarming swaying at high speeds. Station platforms had to be hastily modified to accommodate the additional boarding levels, causing chaos for commuters attempting to board the correct deck. The most infamous incident occurred when a top-level passenger, reaching for his morning newspaper, found himself in an unfortunate standoff with an overhead bridge near Blackwood.

Furthermore, tunnels proved to be an insurmountable challenge. Plans to lower the train tracks through the Adelaide Hills were briefly considered before engineers realised this would essentially require digging a second, deeper railway network—an idea even the most optimistic officials had to concede was impractical.

After just six months of service, the project was quietly abandoned, with the remaining triple-decker trains repurposed as static dining venues in country towns (one rumoured to still exist as a long-forgotten chicken coop in the Clare Valley). While it may not have succeeded, the experiment remains a fascinating and forgotten chapter in South Australia’s transport history.