British Rail Class 458
The British Rail Class 458 Juniper (5-JUP) is a class of electric multiple unit passenger trains of the Alstom Coradia Juniper family, built at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002 for South West Trains. The order for the original fleet of 30 four-car trains was placed in 1997, and delivery of the first unit followed in October 1998. The fleet entered passenger service between 2000 and 2003 and is maintained at Wimbledon depot.
| British Rail Class 458 Juniper | |
|---|---|
Class 458/5 unit at Richmond | |
Class 458/5 refurbished interior | |
| In service | 25 February 2000 – present |
| Manufacturer | Alstom |
| Built at | Washwood Heath, Birmingham |
| Family name | Coradia Juniper |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | 1998–2002 |
| Refurbished |
|
| Number built | 36 (Original fleet of 30, plus 6 converted from Cl. 460) |
| Formation |
|
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity | 5-car units: 270 seats |
| Owners | Porterbrook |
| Operators |
|
| Depots |
|
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Steel |
| Car length |
|
| Width | 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.77 m (12 ft 4 in) |
| Doors | Double-leaf sliding plug (2 per side per car) |
| Maximum speed |
|
| Traction system | Alstom ONIX 800 IGBT |
| Traction motors | 6 × 270 kW (400 hp) (2 per motor car) |
| Power output | 1,620 kW (2,000 hp) |
| Electric system(s) | 750 V DC third rail |
| Current collector(s) | Contact shoe |
| UIC classification |
|
| Bogies | Alstom ACR |
| Braking system(s) | Electro-pneumatic (disc), and regenerative |
| Safety system(s) |
|
| Coupling system |
|
| Multiple working | Within class |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Between 2013 and 2016, the class was merged with the mechanically similar Class 460 fleet and extensively rebuilt to form a fleet of 36 five-car units—designated Class 458/5—to provide an increase in capacity on services into London Waterloo. The trains are now used by South Western Railway.
In March 2021 South Western Railway announced that 28 Class 458 units would be refurbished and redeployed on long-distance services on the Portsmouth Direct line, as a result of the company deciding to abandon their original plan to use upgraded Class 442 units for this purpose. As part of the refurbishment the fifth car will be removed and the passenger saloons will be modified to better meet passenger expectations for longer journeys.