Tuesday, July 2, 2024 South Western Railway (SWR) has launched the first refurbished Class 458 units by Alstom on its UK network. The units 458415, 458420, and 458422, now sporting the updated SWR livery, will initially serve eight-car services on the London Waterloo to Weybridge route via Brentford, as well as the London Waterloo to Twickenham route. Alstom’s Transport Technology Centre in Widnes has refurbished 17 of SWR’s Class 458 trains, with 11 more to be upgraded.
Each four-car unit features 234 seats in a two-by-two arrangement, complete with seat back tables, charging points, and designated spaces for two wheelchair users. Additionally, each carriage includes two tables equipped with wireless charging capabilities. The refurbishment process at Widnes, taking two weeks per unit, has not only reconfigured the vehicles for faster acceleration but also replaced all carpets.
Further enhancements at Alstom’s historic Crewe facility involved overhauling the powered wheelsets, enabling the trains to reach speeds of 100 mph, up from the previous 75 mph. Opened in 2017, Alstom’s Widnes facility is the UK’s largest and most advanced centre for train modernisation. The Crewe site, Alstom’s UK Centre of Excellence for Bogie and Traction Motor Overhaul, has overhauled more than 20,000 bogies in the past decade for the UK rail market.
Looking ahead, all bogies for the High Speed Two (HS2) trains, which will reach speeds of 225 mph, will be assembled and maintained at Cr.
