RUSSIAN METRO BLAST: St Petersburg train driver hailed as hero

Alexander Kaverin, the driver of the Saint Petersburg metro train hit by a deadly explosion, has become an unlikely hero in a tragedy that has claimed 14 lives and injured dozens.

The 50-year-old Russian appeared stunned in the spotlight of state television, describing how he had driven the train through to the next station despite smoke from a blast in one of its carriages.

"I followed the instructions," Kaverin said. "We have already had explosions and smart people developed smart instructions."

"At that moment there was no time to be afraid, it was time to work," he added.

Kaverin said he had learned that in such situations, he needed to drive the train all the way to the next station.

Russian investigators on Monday said Kaverin had made the "right decision" by not stopping the train between two stations, which enabled quick evacuation of injured passengers.

The head of Saint Petersburg's metro, Vladimir Garyugin, said that Kaverin had been a "hero."

"In emergency situations people become heroes," Garyugin said of the driver. "It would have complicated the (evacuation) task to carry people out" of the tunnel, he added.

Kaverin, who has worked at the Saint Petersburg metro for 15 years, will be rewarded for his actions, along with another unnamed employee who discovered a second bomb and called in experts to defuse it, said Garegin.