The NEW refurbished Class 458/4s are now in service!

Today I rode on the Class 458/4s a highly refurbished version of the similar looking Class 458/5.
For those wanting the unit numbers I rode on, they were:
- 458415
- 458421
These trains currently are running on the London - Weybridge via Hounslow diagrams and will be for quite a bit, until they move onto the London - Portsmouth routes for their services
First Class is declassified on these units for now, so for those going to ride them, do bare in mind that you can sit in the First Class Compartment for free!

[@ringermikey]

I need to ride one of these

[@AnthonyFurnival]

The 458/0s had a bumpy entry into service but were eventually almost exclusively used on the Waterloo to Readings up until about 2012 with a few exceptions. It was only really their first couple of years where they were problematic. Keep in mind when they entered service the majority of the SWR fleet was 1960s slam door units and the 455s so these were quite a step forward for them at that time. When they entered service they were geared for 100mph ops but later regeared to 75mph which appeared to solve many of the unreliability issues. A couple of them in the early days also operated alongside the 460s on the Gatwick Express. The Gatwick Express routes were later expanded to Brighton and there weren’t enough units to facilitate this - so they made use of the 442s instead for GX as thewe had recently left SWT having been replaced by 444s and 450s. Around the same time, SWT were becoming obsessed with the idea that all metro/ inner suburban trains should be 10 carriages and there were a lot of platform extensions to allow this. They obtained 456s to extend 8 car 455 services to 10 car but they had something more radical in mind for the 458s. As the 460s were now redundant, despite looking cosmetically different, they are Junipers and mechanically quite similar to the 458s. So the idea was that one 460 carriage would be inserted into each of the thirty 458 sets, to make them 5 carriages long. A further 6 units could also be made by converting 6 of the 8 class 460s into 458s also. These became 458531 - 536. As a fleet they were incredibly reliable. As you know SWR came along and frankly made a mess of things. They brought back the 442s at a cost of over £40 million which involved a complete refurbishment and a new traction package. This was a good idea in my view as whilst old, they were designed for long distance. As you rightly say in the video - the 455/456/458/707s were to be replaced with the 701s. When Covid came along, despite the money invested in the 442s, a decision was taken to retire them immediately- most went to Wolverton to be stripped (given that there was a lot of new technology put in them). A new plan was formulated to essentially put the 458s back to almost original specification. This was to uprate them to 100mph ops and remove the extra carriage which came from the 460. 28 are due to be overhauled with an uncertain future for the other 8. As for the roll out on the Weybridge line - there’s mixed reports - but as you can see they’ve been designed for distance services but a review after the contracts were signed for the overhauls meant that they were no longer needed on the Portsmouth/ Bournemouth services as first intended - so they are now being used on the Weybridge route. Once more 701s enter service, I’m sure this’ll be reviewed. Hope all this helps 🙂

[@ZackMurray12]

@@AnthonyFurnival Thank you for the info, it’s quite interesting!

[@AnthonyFurnival]

@@ZackMurray12 no worries

[@robjones8821]

Really liking your filming style, entertaining and fun keeping me watching.

[@ZackMurray12]

Thank you so much!

[@Southernrailwaysfan]

This was a great video Zack you’re good at vlogging , the refurbished 458s are lovely units !

[@ZackMurray12]

Thanks a lot! I watched your video about it yesterday its really good!

[@Southernrailwaysfan]

@@ZackMurray12 Thanks so much! , I just uploaded a new video of 69011 dragging a 458. I love these 458 units!

[@NotItsLivCo]

not Wyatt waving for like 30 seconds straight😂😂😂

[@ZackMurray12]

Lol

[@simon11235]

I lol’d at that too! 😂😂

[@mdhazeldine]

Fantastic video skills for such a young guy. Watch out Geoff Marshall! haha. This refurb looks quite nice. I used to commute on the 458/0s and have been on a few 458/5s. They're generally very good trains, with more comfortable seats than Desiros or any other SWR train except 159s. The only thing I don't like about them is how they shake for a few seconds when pulling away from the platform and how ear peircingly loud the door opening sound is when you're standing right next to the speaker.

[@SimplyBurgerYT]

1 day between videos? You've been on the grind zack

[@Listenerandlearner870]

It says Barnes because it is unsuitable to use it to go to Waterloo from Weybridge but it does of course go to Waterloo.

[@davidpanton3192]

Just wait till your refurbished trains get refurbished again; then you know you're getting old...

[@BonnieBlue94]

i seen locomotive lovers vid first and i subbed to u and him

[@SimplyBurgerYT]

3:45 The announcement sounds like a rap lol 😂😂😂

[@ZackMurray12]

Thats what I always say about the 458 announcements! 😂

[@simon11235]

@@ZackMurray12 I’m on the Helensburgh to Edinburgh train and thought of you as I heard the Scottish version of the announcement rap! 🤣🎵🎤

[@nevaehssx]

preppy!

[@simon11235]

Excellent video! I love your style too. Nicely framed shots & great artwork! I liked your inclusion of facts&figures especially the explanation of the changes made during the refurbishment. Overall 9.5/10 The only improvement would be to have an outro clip, even just to say “Goodbye” at the end. 🙂❤️🚆👍🏳️‍🌈