Alstom completes refurbishment of South Western Railway’s Class 458 fleet

Alstom has completed an upgrade of the Class 458 electric multiple unit (EMU) fleet for South Western Railway (SWR). The refurbishment has been financed by Porterbrook, a leading UK rolling stock financier and asset management company, which owns the Class 458 fleet.

Twenty-eight four-car units have been refurbished at the Alstom Transport Technology Centre in Widnes, taking two weeks to complete each set. Each unit has 234 seats in a two-by-two formation – all with seat back tables and charging points – as well as space for two wheelchair users. All carriages also have two tables fitted with wireless charging points, while their exteriors carry the updated SWR livery.

Work by Alstom at its train modernisation facility in Widnes has also seen the reconfiguration of the vehicles to enable faster acceleration and new carpets laid throughout. Meanwhile, additional work at Alstom’s historic Crewe Works has seen the Class 458’s powered wheelsets overhauled. This has enabled the trains to operate at a top speed of 100mph – up from 75mph.




The final unit – 458414 – departed Widnes after an event at the facility on Thursday 12 December to mark the successful completion of the project. The milestone also inspired Widnes Industrial Engineer, Hannah Temple, who created a drawing of the refurbishment that was revealed at the celebration event. The EMU will enter service in the spring, operating eight-car services across SWR’s suburban network.

The 28, four-car Class 458 trains will be designated as Class 458/4. The eight remaining five-car units will be designated as Class 458/5.

Opened in 2017, Alstom's Widnes facility is the UK’s largest and most sophisticated centre for train modernisation, while its Crewe site is home to Alstom’s UK Centre of Excellence for Bogie and Traction Motor Overhaul. The Crewe facility has overhauled over 20,000 bogies – which house the train’s wheelsets – during the past ten years for the UK rail market. In the future, all the bogies for the 225mph trains for High Speed Two (HS2) will be assembled and maintained in Crewe by Alstom.

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