Posted 15th April 2013 | 6 Comments
Porterbook announces £40m fleet upgrade
The 455s were last upgraded by Bombardier at Chart Leacon between 2004 and 2008
PORTERBROOK has signed a £40 million contract with Vossloh Kiepe UK to replace the DC motors on 91 Class 455 units which it leases to South West Trains, and has revealed it may follow suit with the Class 319 fleet run by First Capital Connect.
Porterbrook said it believed that the business case for the 455s was sound, and so it awarded a contract to carry out a conversion to AC motors on the entire fleet. The trains are currently undergoing a C6 overhaul which includes the work necessary for PRM TSI compliance.
The 455s were built by BR in the mid 1980s and underwent a £67 million refurbishment and upgrade between 2004 and 2008, which included the removal of corrosion.
The investment was judged to be a success. Porterbrook said 'passengers felt that they were travelling on almost new, if not new trains', and that the 455s now form the most reliable fleet of electric multiple units built before privatisation. It also said that the upgraded 455s will provide 'an economical solution to increasing passenger demand', because the cost of leasing and maintaining the fleet will be 'substantially lower' than new trains.
The 455s will also be equipped with a regeneration system for the first time, which Porterbrook believes will cut traction power costs by 20 per cent.
The upgraded sets will come into service from the end of next year, with the last due to be delivered in February 2016.
Porterbrook revealed that it is also 'evaluating the opportunities' which would be offered by a similar upgrade of the 86 Class 319 units which are operated by First Capital Connect on the Thameslink route.
Reader Comments:
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Roger Capel, Sheffield
So if Porterbrook are looking at 319s, what does this say about expected delivery dates for Desiro City on Thameslink?
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
This begs the question of whether further use needs to be found for District Line D Stock which is relatively young compared to some main line stock.
Could conversion to,AC or even Diesel be possible ?
Just think of places with single carriage trains and yet District Line trains are 8 carriages long!
Lee Worthington, Manchester
While the news of potential re-motoring of the FCC Class 319's is good news, are there any other upgrades/life-extension proposals planned for these trains in-time for their transfer to FGW and the North West? Personally I'd rather see some of the Bombardier Electrostarts moving up here instead, but anything that potentially offers an improvement to the Class 142's and Class 150's has got to be good.
(Our understanding is that a possible re-motoring of the 319s is not necessarily connected with any future cascades as such, but could happen anyway. There have been proposals to add air conditioning to the 319s as and when they leave Thameslink, but the present uncertainty about their replacements seems to have put such an idea on the back burner.—Editor.)
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Well as they say "the old ones are the best! " this raises the question of whether pantographs can be fitted if AC conversion on SWT goes ahead and becomes a rolling program ?
If pantographs can be fitted then these trains might one day replace pacers up north with new trains on South West Trains area?
Mack, London
@ Lorentz
SWT have said the 456 will be refurisbed to thier 455 standards so should be.
Also mentioned before than Crossrail 2 is expected to replace the 455 come early 2030's. After all the 10yrs older 313 will be in service come 2020's so likely the 455 will do the same.
Lorentz, London
So does that mean the units will be in service into the early 2030s?
I wonder if the class 456 fleet will undergo similar treatment?