South Western Railways have been trying to upgrade Portsmouth to London Services by using old Class 442 Units first built for Bournemouth Services. The introduction of the trains has been beset with technical issues during refurbishment and finally the impact of Covid.
SWR have now decided to scrap the Class 442s first introduced in 1988, with electrical systems (Motors etc.) dating from even earlier rolling stock introduced in the mid1960's.
Class 458, used on Reading services, will now be used instead of Class 442. Class 458 date from 2000. The trains will be reconfigured internally and also be re-geared to provide 100mph running as oppossed to 75mph currently.
This is likely to be positive news as Portsmouth services will have younger more reliable trains and wider doors which is important provided commuting numbers return.
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