Siemens’ 279-strong fleet of Desiro UK trains reached a landmark 100 million miles in passenger service on 28 January 2008. This is equivalent to travelling to the moon and back 209 times or circumnavigating the globe 4016 times.
 
The Siemens fleet of class 350, 360, 360/2, 185, 450 and 444 trains travel across the UK rail network from Southampton on the south coast up to Glasgow in Scotland with the following operators: London Midland, One, Heathrow Express, First TransPennine Express and South West Trains.
 
Steve White, director of rolling stock service at Siemens, said: “Achieving 100 million miles of operation is another important landmark for the Desiro UK fleet.  These units have an excellent track record for on time delivery and are proving to be very popular with passengers and operators alike. They are safe, comfortable and very reliable, thanks to the support of our dedicated service team. The class 185 is the most reliable DMU in the country at present (as measured by the NFRIP MAA). Siemens has also won the Silver Spanner for most improved EMU for the last three years with the 360, 360/2 and 350”.

The recent £164 million train order from Porterbrook for 37 x 4 car class 350 Desiro EMU for the new West Midlands London Midland franchise which will operate on London to Birmingham services will bring the total of Siemens Desiro running in the UK trains to over 300.
 
Making up the 100 million miles: how the fleets compare

• 5 x 5-car class 360/2 EMUs (Heathrow  Express / BAA): 1,034,054 miles
• 30 x 4 car dual-voltage class 350 EMUs  (London Midland / Angel Trains): 8,943,656
• 21 x 4-car class 360 (one railway / Angel  Trains) EMUs: 11,273,459 miles
• 45 x 5-car class 444 EMUs and 127 x 4-car  class 450 EMUs (South West Trains / Angel Trains): 21,621,782 and 45,445,573  miles
• 51 x 3-car class 185 DMUs (First TransPennine Express / HSBC Rail):  11,698,564 miles
• 37 x 4 car class 350 Desiro (London Midland  / Porterbrook) EMUs: on order