Drunken train passenger severed man’s artery in ‘despicable’ glass bottle attack
A drunk man staged a brutal attack on a train, shoving a broken bottle into his victim’s chest, severing an artery and landing him in intensive care.
Thomas Craig, 48, was drunk on a train from Glasgow Queen Street to Perth on February 16, 2024, when he started talking to other passengers sitting across the aisle.
Ten minutes into the conversation he began insulting the victim and then went on a rampage, jumping from his seat and hitting her twice in the head with a glass Buckfast bottle.
The victim’s friend tried to intervene but was attacked himself when Craig turned and punched him seven times, then drove the broken neck of the glass bottle into his chest twice.
Craig then returned to his seat and threw the neck of the bottle towards where the victims were sitting. He then took one of the victims’ phone and put it in his pocket.
He walked down the train before taking off his blood-soaked sweater and replacing it with a clean hoodie from his belongings.
When the train arrived at Larbert railway station, police and paramedics arrived at the scene. Both victims were treated for their injuries before being rushed to hospital and Craig was arrested on the train by police officers.
The second victim’s injuries were so severe that he was admitted to intensive care with a stab wound near his heart, a collapsed lung and a severed artery that caused him to lose about 15% of his blood.
Craig, of Walton Street in East Renfrewshire, was found guilty of attempted murder and serious assault on November 28 following a four-day trial at Glasgow High Court.
He will appear in the same court on January 12, 2026 to serve his sentence.
British Transport Police Detective Inspector Marc Francey said: “Craig acted truly despicably, violently and brutally attacking two men over a minor dispute and causing numerous passengers on the train to panic.
“His indiscriminate and thuggish behavior could have led to much more serious consequences for both his victims and himself. It was only through luck and the life-saving work of paramedics that Craig was not found guilty of anything much worse.
“I hope this verdict provides some closure to the victims who suffered such a brutal attack. Violence on the railway is completely unacceptable and we will relentlessly pursue offenders like Craig to ensure they face justice.”
