British Rail Class 458

British Rail Class 458
Juniper
Class 458/5 unit at Richmond
Class 458/5 refurbished interior
In service25 February 2000 – present
ManufacturerAlstom
Built atWashwood Heath, Birmingham
Family nameCoradia Juniper
Replaced
Constructed1998–2002
Refurbished
  • 2008–2010 (interior refresh)
  • 2013–2016 (5-car rebuild)
Number built36
(Original fleet of 30, plus 6 converted from Cl. 460)
Number in service24
Formation
  • 4 cars per 458/0 unit as-built:
    DMCO-TSO-MSO-DMCO
  • 5 cars per rebuilt 458/5 unit:
    DMSO-TSO-TSO-MSO-DMSO
Fleet numbers
  • 458/0: 458001–458030
  • 458/5: 458501–458536
Capacity
  • As 4-car 458/4s 234 seats[1]
  • As 5-car units: 270 seats
[2]
OwnersPorterbrook
Operators
Depots
Specifications
Car body constructionSteel
Car length
  • DMSO vehs.: 21.01 m (68 ft 11 in)
  • M/TSO vehs.: 19.94 m (65 ft 5 in)
Width2.80 m (9 ft 2 in)
Height3.77 m (12 ft 4 in)
DoorsDouble-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car)
Maximum speed
  • 458/0 and 458/4: 100 mph (161 km/h)
  • 458/5: 75 mph (121 km/h)[4]
Traction systemAlstom ONIX 800 IGBT
Traction motors6 × 270 kW (400 hp) (2 per motor car)
Power output1,620 kW (2,000 hp)
Electric system(s)750 V DC third rail
Current collector(s)Contact shoe
UIC classification
  • 458/0: 2′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′2′+Bo′2′[5]
  • 458/5: 2′Bo′+2′2′+2′2′+Bo′2′+Bo′2′
BogiesAlstom ACR[6]
Braking system(s)Electro-pneumatic (disc), and regenerative
Safety system(s)
Coupling system
Multiple workingWithin class
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The British Rail Class 458 Juniper (5-JUP) is a class of electric multiple-unit passenger trains of the Alstom Coradia Juniper family, built at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002 for South West Trains.[7] The order for the original fleet of 30 four-car trains was placed in 1997, and delivery of the first unit followed in October 1998.[8] The fleet entered passenger service between 2000 and 2003 and is maintained at Bournemouth depot.[3][9]

Between 2013 and 2016, the class was merged with the mechanically similar Class 460 fleet and extensively rebuilt to form a fleet of 36 five-car units—designated Class 458/5—to provide an increase in capacity on services into London Waterloo.[10] The trains are now used by South Western Railway.[11]

In March 2021, South Western Railway announced that 28 Class 458 units would be refurbished for use on long-distance services on the Portsmouth Direct line, as a result of the company deciding to abandon its original plan to use upgraded Class 442 units for this purpose.[12] By 2024, this plan had been dropped, and the refurbished units were instead deployed on limited services out of London Waterloo from 24 June 2024.

  1. ^ Dunn, Pip (21 August 2024). "First of refurbished SWR 458/4s enter traffic". Network News. Rail Magazine. No. 1016. p. 21.
  2. ^ "Class 458 "Coradia Juniper"". South Western Railway. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "The first refurbished SWR Class 458/4s enter service". News. Railways Illustrated. No. 259. September 2024. p. 12.
  4. ^ Lindop, Peter (4 April 2000). "Class 458". www.lococarriage.org.uk/. The Locomotive & Carriage Institution. Retrieved 12 June 2020. 458 – A Fast-Track Development?
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ju was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Marsden, C. J. (2007). Traction Recognition. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-0-7110-3277-4. OCLC 230804946. OL 16902750M.
  7. ^ "Railtex 2000 review". Railway Gazette International. 1 January 2001. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  8. ^ Lindop, Peter (4 April 2000). "458 – A Fast Track Development?". Locomotive & Carriage Institution. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Golden Spanners Awards 2015". Modern Railways. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  10. ^ Llewelyn, Hugh (2016). EMUs A History. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445649832.
  11. ^ "First train arrives late at South Western Railway launch". Rail Magazine. Peterborough. 5 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  12. ^ "SWR abandons '442s' but retains '458s'". Modern Railways. Key Publishing. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.