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Class 450 Desiro
Siemens' four-car Desiro, the most numerous train in SWR's fleet, on routes across the network from Waterloo. Up to three run together as twelve cars. Ordered as 100 four-car and 32 five-car units; the five-car units were cancelled in late 2003 and 10 more four-car units built instead, and 17 more followed in 2005-2006. Siemens refurbished the fleet in 2017-2020 (new seats and at-seat power; first class moved behind the cabs). Angel Trains lists the fleet as Classes 450/0 and 450/5.
Class 450 Desiro · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/450/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 1
Special liveries 1
- Thank You Key Workers, 450067 Special livery from 2020 (Wikipedia; no SWR or trade-press report of its unveiling found); still carried in September 2024.
Former liveries 1
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- Siemens Transportation Systems
- Family
- Desiro UK, with Class 185 Desiro, Class 350 Desiro, Class 360 Desiro, Class 380 Desiro, Class 444 Desiro
- Built
- 2002–2006
- In service
- since 2003
- Operators
- South Western Railway
- Formation
- 4 cars
- Trains in fleet
- 127
- Fleets
- South Western Railway: 127
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Power
- 750 V DC third rail · how it works
- Bogies
- Siemens SF 5000 bogies · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 185 Desiro, Class 350 Desiro, Class 360 Desiro, Class 380 Desiro, Class 444 Desiro
- Train length
- 268 ft (81.60 m)
- Car width
- 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m)
- Seats per train
- 285
- Total capacity
- SWR: 269 standard and 16 first class. As built, 264 (24 first, 240 standard) in Siemens' 2003 data sheet, or 273 (24 first, 249 standard) in Siemens' 2006 reference list and the Southern Electric Group's per-car figures
- Status
- In service with South Western Railway (publicly owned since 25 May 2025): 127 units, leased from Angel Trains.
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Car types
| Code | Car | Length | Doors per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMSO | Driving motor open (cab car): 8 first-class seats behind the cab since the 2017-2020 refurbishment | 66 ft 9 in20.34 m | 2 double |
| TCO | Trailer open with a toilet (built as the composite, with 24 first-class seats; standard class only since the refurbishment) | 66 ft 9 in20.34 m | 2 double |
| TSO | Trailer open with the accessible toilet and 2 wheelchair spaces | 66 ft 9 in20.34 m | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 37 sources from Wikimedia Commons, Siemens Transportation Systems, Angel Trains and 10 more
- Class 450 Angel Trains450/0 and 450/5: 127 four-car units; 66 ft 9 in (20.34 m) vehicle; width 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m); 100 mph (161 km/h); formation
- Class 450 'Desiro' South Western Railway, accessed 6 October 2026127 trains; routes; 269 standard and 16 first-class seats; three can run as twelve cars; its train plan: 8 first-class seats behind the cab in each driving car, a toilet in each trailer (one the accessible toilet, with 2 wheelchair spaces), two doorways a side on every car. It says the class came into service in 2004, the year the fleet came into general use
- Technical Information: Class 450 Siemens Transportation Systems, 2003as-built data: 4 cars, 268 ft (81.6 m), 24 first and 240 standard seats, 175.71 t, 750 V DC, 160 km/h (99 mph); doors at 1/3 and 2/3; the as-built formation DMOS2 + TOCL + TOSLWB + DMOS2, first class in the TOCL; a photograph of 450008 in South West Trains' outer-suburban blue, 2003
- Trains: Reference List (issue September 2006) Siemens Transportation Systems, September 2006, p. 39built 2002-2006; 110 ordered in 2001 and 17 more in 2005; 273 seats as built
- Train firm to replace new fleet BBC News, 12 January 2004Desiros already in service by 12 January 2004
- 450107, Ash, April 7th 2026 Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), 2026-04-07SWR's suburban livery on a Class 450; the cab door's window square-cornered (set T13F, Kyle, 29 October 2026)
- First Class Bogies (bogie catalogue, edition 08/08) Siemens Transportation Systems, Graz, August 2008, pp. 60-61the bogie drawing: the SF 5000 UK's side view (p. 61), wheelbase 8 ft 6 in (2,600 mm), wheels 2 ft 9 in (850 mm) new
- SWR 450044 bogie detail (63644) (photograph, 29 October 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 29 October 2022the bogie drawing's layout (a Class 450's SF 5000 UK bogie; layout only)
- 423 417 "Gordon Pettitt" & SWR 450 092 at Alton.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Skye Haynes), 12 July 2026the yellow at the cab front, side on (job yellow, 13 October 2026)
- 450006 at Frimley railway station, Surrey - September 2025 - 03.jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (Mertbiol), 12 September 2025the yellow at the cab front, side on (job yellow, 13 October 2026)
- (GBR-London) South Western Railway Class 450 450046 @ Vauxhall 2025-06-16.jpg (photograph, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (S5A-0043), 16 June 2025the yellow at the cab front, side on (job yellow, 13 October 2026)
- Class 450 in the new South Western Railway painted livery.png (side diagram, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (N0thhan), 2019the yellow at the cab front, side on (job yellow, 13 October 2026); the navy band and lower yellow line along every car (layout only; set TF, 20 October 2026)
- Chiswick station - geograph.org.uk - 3280915.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Dr Neil Clifton, from Geograph), 3 January 2013indicative drawing: the joins between cars (layout only)
- Trains at Haymarket railway station 07.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Tbatb), 26 August 2019indicative drawing: the dark drawgear under the bellows, as a Class 380 join shows it (measured side on)
- 4-Des and Class 450/2 (Siemens Desiro series) Southern Electric Group (sremg.org.uk), read 19 October 2026introduction to traffic in October 2003: first public service 5 October (Bournemouth to Weymouth), Waterloo-Basingstoke from 13 October, Alton from 25 November; sliding plug doors; 273 seats as built (71 + 24 first and 39 standard + 68 + 71); the order for 100 four-car and 32 five-car units, the five-car units cancelled in late 2003 and 10 more four-car units built instead
- 'Desiro' heads south west Rail Express (Mortons Media Group), 14 August 2017the units entered passenger service from 2003 (trade press, a second source for the year)
- Siemens to upgrade South Western Railway fleet Siemens (press release), 10 November 2017the refurbishment of all 172 Class 444 and 450 Desiros from December 2017: at-seat power, new first-class seats and tables
- South Western Railway £70m 'Desiro' fleet completed Rail Technology Magazine, 13 January 2020the refurbishment finished: the last unit, a 450, back in service on 9 January 2020; 1,305 standard seats added across the fleet
- South Western Railway services transferred to public ownership Department for Transport (gov.uk), 25 May 2025SWR's services in public ownership from 25 May 2025
- 450026 Portsmouth Harbour.jpg (photograph, CC BY 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 3 September 2022the livery drawing: the leading DMSO's navy edge, its top and the band under the white, door 1's yellow frame, tab and '1', the silver band, the white band's start behind the cab, the lower yellow line; the underframe's layout (rectified on its doorways; layout only below the body)
- A Class 450 unit crosses the River Kennet to the east of Reading station 01, 02 and 03.jpg (photographs, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (Mertbiol), 27 June 2024the livery drawing: both DMSOs' navy edges along one side of one train (kennet-01 and -02), door 1's frame on the trailing DMSO (kennet-01, -03); the TCO's toilet end (kennet-02); the window corners
- Southampton - SWR 450060 Portsmouth service.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 4 April 2026the lower yellow line running on under the white, and the navy under it (layout)
- 450035 at Horsley railway station, Surrey - June 2025.jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (Mertbiol), 16 June 2025the navy back to door 2 on another unit (layout only)
- A class 450 unit crossing the five-arch River Mole viaduct at Leatherhead - June 2025 - 01.jpg (photograph, CC0) Wikimedia Commons (Mertbiol), 23 June 2025the navy back to door 2 (layout only)
- Technical Information: Class 360 Siemens Transportation Systems, 2003the cab coupler: where it stands, its heads and heights (set BC3, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs)
- BR Class 444s couple up at Bournemouth.webm (video, CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Three76Five43Nine72), 21 December 2025the cab coupler: where it stands, its heads and heights (set BC3, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs)
- Eastleigh - SWR 450027.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 29 October 2022the cab coupler: where it stands, its heads and heights (set BC3, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs); the transom across the cab door's window (set T13, Kyle, 29 October 2026); the cab door's window square-cornered (set T13F, Kyle, 29 October 2026)
- Carlisle - FTPE 350409+350405 arriving from Manchester.JPG (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Geof Sheppard), 10 July 2015the cab coupler: where it stands, its heads and heights (set BC3, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs)
- 450011 + 450106 at Alton platform 1 awaiting rescue after 3rd rail fire damage the day before 04 05 25 (54497029622).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos, Flickr), 4 May 2025the cab coupler: where it stands, its heads and heights (set BC3, 20 October 2026; layout only for photographs)
- 360110 Rivenhall Foot Crossing 181120.jpg (photograph, CC BY 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 18 November 2020the Desiro UK coupler head's heights, confirmed (set BC3's heights check, 26 October 2026)
- 350262 Cathiron.jpg (photograph, CC BY 2.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 2 November 2022the Desiro UK coupler head's and heated box's heights, confirmed (set BC3's heights check, 26 October 2026)
- 450018, Hilsea, November 1st 2023.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Southsea_Matt), 1 November 2023the apron (ribbed anticlimbers) and the front gangway's foot, read on the train's own photographs (set BC3F, 27 October 2026)
- 444016, Portsmouth & Southsea, April 6th 2026.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Southsea_Matt), 6 April 2026the plough under the ribbed block and the dark space under the front gangway (set BC3PL, 27 October 2026)
- 444040 at New Milton.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Benspiersphotos), 6 September 2017the plough under the ribbed block and the dark space under the front gangway (set BC3PL, 27 October 2026)
- South Western Railway unveils 100th Desiro unit to be repainted RailAdvent, August 2022the repaint into SWR's livery: the first finished in November 2019, the 100th Desiro (450100) in August 2022
- British Rail Class 450 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery, its unit and its 2020 date
- SWR Thank You Key Workers liveried 450067 at Basingstoke 07 09 24 (53976739822).jpg (photograph) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos), 7 September 2024450067 in the 'SWR Thank You Key Workers' livery at Basingstoke on 7 September 2024 (photograph)
- Car length: Siemens' 2003 sheet gives 268 ft (81.6 m) over the unit, which is four cars of 66 ft 9 in (20.34 m) plus the two front gangways, and 64 ft 8 in (19.7 m) for a car without couplers (a trailer body); its "19.6 m with coupler" is a misprint. Kept here until a dimensioned drawing confirms the gangways' depth
- Car height: not found
- The high-capacity Class 450/5s (units without first class, renumbered from the 4500xx series): their numbers and dates are from Wikipedia and forums only; Angel Trains confirms the sub-class
- The navy band and lower yellow line along the trailers and the trailing DMSO: drawn from SWR's side diagram (layout only) at the heights measured on the leading DMSO (450026 shows them the whole length of that car, behind door 2 too); no photograph shows a trailer's foot or the trailing DMSO's (parapets and walls hide them)
- The years of the former liveries come from Wikipedia's class article and the other sources listed, and haven't been checked against a second source.
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