Traction & Stock
A £45 MILLION plan by South Western Railway to refurbish Class 442 EMUs has been abandoned. The five-car sets are owned by SWR, and not leased. Given the downturn in passenger numbers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision isn’t entirely surprising; the additional capacity envisaged when SWR took over the franchise in 2017 is unlikely to materialise, certainly in the short term. Consequently, the operator feels it can no longer justify the cost of the project and it is better to abandon it now, particularly as the sets have accessibility dispensation which will expire in 2024. The refurbishment plan involved Knorr-Bremse undertaking a refurbishment of 18 trains, which included a new AC traction package by Kiepe to replace the old DC equipment previously used in 4-REP EMUs in the mid-1960s. Built between 1987 and 1989 for Network South East services from London Waterloo to Weymouth, after electrification beyond Bournemouth was extended, the ‘Wessex Electrics’, as they were dubbed, were replaced on the route by Class 444 units from 2007, and the units went into warm store at Eastleigh Works. Since then, they have had mixed fortunes. From December 2008, they were used by Southern for an extended Gatwick Express operation until they were replaced by dedicated new-build Class 387 units from February 2016.
Stored at Ely, SWR announced plans in March 2017 to refurbish 18 of the 24 original sets for London WaterlooPortsmouth services, along with the refurbishment plans.
Introduction of the first refurbished sets was delayed after door-locking issues and in September 2019, the sets were withdrawn after concerns over signal interference issues, resolved by January 2020 when four sets were available for traffic.
Travel downturn
When the pandemic struck and lockdown was announced in March 2020, the 442s were taken out of service because of the downturn in travel. Now, in light of the past 12 months and modelling of future travel trends, the decision has been made to stand the sets down. With the project only partially complete, it is possible that reuseable components will be recovered, but as the units are owned by SWR and not leased, their next likely move is sale or scrap. SWR’s engineering director, Neil Drury, said: “Covid-19 has dramatically reduced the number of customers travelling by rail, even with restrictions beginning to lift. “As part of our commitment to adapting efficiently to these new circumstances, we have taken the decision to reduce costs by permanently withdrawing our fleet of Class 442 trains. “These trains have not been required on our network since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. We will focus on introducing our new fleet of Class 701s later this year, providing additional trains for our customers, which will increase capacity on our metro services.” To replace the 442s on Portsmouth services, SWR will transfer a number of Class 458s from outer suburban workings. The 458s were built as four-car sets by Alstom at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002, but were amalgamated between 2013 and 2016 with the Class 460 ‘Gatwick Express’ Juniper sets for five-car formations, with the addition of six extra sets.
Lease extended
In early April, Porterbrook, which owns the 458s, confirmed a £25 million contract had been signed with Alstom to upgrade the fleet. The lease with SWR has been extended until 2027. To meet long distance rather than suburban requirements, the 458s will return for four-car formations and be re-geared from 75mph to 100mph. Seating will be reconfigured to a 2+2 style with new seat fabrics, flooring, tables and grab rails. Mains/USB power sockets will be fitted in first class along with wireless charging, USB sockets only in standard, and toilets will be upgraded. Externally, SWR livery will be applied. Alstom will undertake the refurbishment work at its Widnes facility, and the fleet will be maintained at Bournemouth depot.