The successful refurbishment of the fleet of Class 455 units for South West Trains has reached the halfway point, with the acceptance of unit 455903.

The contract was awarded in June 2004 by vehicle owners Porterbrook Leasing and the work is being carried out by Bombardier Transportation at their refurbishment facility at Chart Leacon, Ashford, Kent. The refurbishment programme includes a C6 overhaul, significant investment in reliability improvements and complete interior refurbishment, including Passenger Information System and CCTV.

The objectives of the refurbishment were to maximise the passenger capacity and loading efficiency of the vehicles, improve reliability, as well as securing their viability for the remainder of their life. This has involved a complete body refurbishment on all of the units.

The work started during the summer of 2004 and the first unit re-entered passenger service in October 2004 to overwhelming feedback from customers and the industry. The completion of all 91 units is due by Spring 2008.

Paul Francis, Managing Director for Porterbrook said “We are extremely pleased to be working with South West Trains and Bombardier Transportation on this project to deliver high quality refurbished rolling stock, which will now have an improved environment and better journey experience for passengers.”

Mac Mackintosh, South West Trains’ Engineering Director, said: “I am delighted with the results so far and we have received positive feedback from our passengers and we look forward to seeing all 91 units in passenger service.”

Steve Lee, Vice President, Refurbishment Projects, Bombardier: commented “Our Chart Leacon team has a wealth of experience in refurbishment projects and they should be congratulated on the high quality of work that they are producing for our customers. We are grateful to Porterbrook Leasing and South West Trains for placing their trust in Bombardier in awarding us this contract.”