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Class 458 Juniper
Alstom's Juniper, built at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002 as four-car units for South West Trains, in service from February 2000. In 2013-16 they were merged with the eight Class 460s into thirty-six five-car 458/5s, every cab rebuilt with a gangway. Alstom re-formed 28 of them as four-car 458/4s at Widnes from June to December 2024, for SWR's suburban routes, raising the top speed from 75 to 100 mph (121 to 161 km/h); the other eight 458/5s were withdrawn by March 2026. With the Arterios taking over, many are now stored.
Scale
Class 458 Juniper · indicative drawing GB Trains · gbtrains.uk/stock/458/ · CC BY 4.0
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Liveries 1
South Western RailwaySWR navy and silverShown aboveFormer liveries 2
South West TrainsFormer1998 to 2013Not drawn yet
South West Trains blueRan as South West Trains, then South Western RailwayFormer2013 to 2026Not drawn yet
- Type
- Electric multiple unit
- Builder
- Alstom, Washwood Heath, Birmingham
- Built
- 1998–2002
- In service
- since 2000
- Operators
- South Western Railway
- Formation
- 4 cars (458/4)
- Trains in fleet
- 28
- Fleets
- South Western Railway: 28
- Top speed
- 100 mph (161 km/h)
- Power
- DC third rail · how it works
- Bogies
- Alstom ACR bogies (Juniper) · drawn with the same bogie component as Class 334
- Car height
- 12 ft 4 in (3.77 m)
- Car width
- 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m)
- Seats per train
- 234
- Total capacity
- Alstom gives 234 seats a unit, with two wheelchair spaces; SWR's page gives 234 standard-class seats and 12 first-class seats (declassified) in two compartments, so the two disagree on whether the 12 are extra
- Status
- 28 four-car units, owned by Porterbrook and run by South Western Railway, publicly owned since 25 May 2025. SWR plans to withdraw them as its Arterios arrive: most are stored, and a few still run on suburban routes from Waterloo (7 in service and 21 stored in September 2026, as Rail Express counts them, read through Wikipedia).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMCO | Driving motor composite open (DMCO) | 68 ft 11 in21.01 m | 2 double |
| TSO | Trailer standard open (TSO) | 65 ft 5 in19.94 m | 2 double |
| MSO | Motor standard open (MSO) | 65 ft 5 in19.94 m | 2 double |
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 28 sources from Wikimedia Commons, South Western Railway, Rail Engineer and 11 more
- Class 458 Juniper (Class 458/4) South Western Railway, accessed 6 October 2026four-car 458/4s; routes; 234 standard seats and 12 declassified first-class seats; built by Alstom, in service from 2000
- Alstom completes £25 million refurbishment of South Western Railway's Class 458 fleet Alstom, 17 December 2024built by Alstom at Washwood Heath between 1998 and 2002 for South West Trains; 28 four-car 458/4s refurbished at Widnes, the first three back in service in June 2024 and the work completed by 17 December 2024; the eight five-car 458/5s that remained; 234 seats a unit and two wheelchair spaces; Porterbrook's fleet
- Transforming 460s Rail Engineer, 15 May 2013the thirty 458s and eight 460s to become thirty-six five-car 458/5s (summary)
- South western railway nationalised as first services operate under dfto control RAIL magazine, read 13 October 2026SWR in public ownership (DfT Operator) from 25 May 2025 (status)
- Units (Rail Express No. 360, May 2026, p. 22) and 'SWR Class 458/4 fleet in decline' (No. 364, September 2026, p. 22; No. 365, p. 23) Rail Express, May and September 20267 in service and 21 stored (September 2026); the 458/5s withdrawn by March 2026 (read through Wikipedia, not seen)
- Fleet changes at South Western Railway (News Front, vol. 83 no. 932, p. 13) Modern Railways, May 2026SWR's plan to withdraw the 458s as the Arterios arrive (read through Wikipedia, not seen)
- Class 458/4 train plan (seat plan of the four-car unit, image 'Class 458/45Carriage Layout') South Western Railway, read 7 October 2026two double-leaf doorways a side on every car (doors per side)
- SWR not ruling out using refurbished '458s' on Portsmouth line as fleet is deployed on suburban routes Rail, 3 January 2025£25m Alstom refurbishment of 28 Porterbrook sets at Widnes; 100 mph (161 km/h); built at Washwood Heath 1998-2002; history of the 458/5
- Refurbishment of SWR's Class 458 fleet complete Railvolution, December 2024refurbishment completed 12 December 2024; 234 seats; 75 to 100 mph (121 to 161 km/h)
- Class 458 (account of a lecture by Peter Summerhays of South West Trains, 4 April 2000) The Locomotive & Carriage Institution, 4 April 2000first train in service on 25 February 2000
- FOI2025/000335: stock lists of train fleet (reply and 'SWR Fleet Vehicle Numbers' spreadsheet) South Western Railway (released under FOI via WhatDoTheyKnow), 17 June 202528 458/4 units (458401-458428) and their vehicle numbers
- "An accumulation of failings": West of England Line problems laid bare Rail, 18 February 2026decision not to use the refurbished 458s
- Regional Review notices: June 2026 ('Class 458 units stored') and August 2026 ('Class 458 continues in service'; 'More class 701/5 units return from storage') Southern Electric Group, 24 June and 25 August 2026458s stored (June 2026) and still in service (August 2026)
- British Rail Class 458 Wikipedia, accessed 6 October 2026car dimensions; formation; units in use and stored, September 2026
- Class 458/4 train plan (seat plan of the four-car unit, image 'Class 458/45Carriage Layout') South Western Railway, read 7 October 2026the drawing's door positions on every car (measured off the plan, to about 0.1 m: driving cars 20 ft 3 in and 52 ft 0 in (6.17 and 15.85 m) from the nose, middle cars symmetric, 31 ft 9 in (9.67 m) apart); the cab's length; the toilet in the TSO
- Transforming 460s Rail Engineer, 15 May 2013the original 458 cabs' staff-only gangways, and the rebuilding of all 60 driving cabs
- 458421 on a test run working 5Q90 Bournemouth TRSMD to Basingstoke passes Eastleigh 08-05-24 (53707862703) Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0), 2024-05-08SWR's livery on a Class 458/4; the cab door and windows, checked against the train plan; the plated toilet windows
- (GBR-London) South Western Railway Class 458 458424 @ Vauxhall 2025-06-16 Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), 2025-06-16the rebuilt gangwayed front and SWR's livery on a Class 458/4
- 458403 and 378234 at Clapham Junction 04 09 25 (54765620397) Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), 2025-09-04the rebuilt gangwayed front in profile on a Class 458/4
- '334 006 Pride scheme on Bathgate depot.jpg' (photograph: 334006's leading driving car side on, its bogie behind a fence; CC BY 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (kitmasterbloke), 1 September 2026the bogies' layout, side on, on the sister Class 334 (layout only)
- 56081 TnT with 69008 on barriers dragging newly refurbished SWR 458407 working 5X65 Wembley Yard ... passes Basingstoke 21 07 23 (53060699562).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Foulger Rail Photos, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 21 July 2023layout and heights of the DMCO's underframe equipment (layout only)
- General Railway Pictures 2009 40.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) The Basingstoker, via Wikimedia Commons, 18 June 2009layout of a middle car's underframe equipment (positions only)
- SWR 458 413 + 458 423 - 55145457626.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 13 March 2026458413 and 458423 in service in March 2026; the livery of a cab-at-left DMCO (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026; layout only)
- 56081 TnT with 69008 on barriers dragging newly refurbished SWR 458407 working 5X65 Wembley Yard ... passes Basingstoke 21 07 23 (53060699562).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 2.0) Foulger Rail Photos, via Wikimedia Commons (Flickr), 21 July 2023the livery of car 1, cab at left: the navy edge, the yellow line over door 1 and the flashes (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026; projective fit on the doors, +/-200 mm)
- 458421 at Clapham Junction 04 09 25 (54766809785).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK), 4 September 2025the livery of car 4, cab at right: the yellow line at door-top level, the cyan flash on door 2's right, the navy up to the roof's edge (set T10, Kyle, 27 October 2026)
- 458421 at Clapham Junction 04 09 25 (54766809785).jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons (Foulger Rail Photos from Basingstoke, UK), 4 September 2025the cab's Dellner head standing ahead of the skirt boxes (set BC2, 20 October 2026; layout only)
- British Rail Class 458 Wikipedia, read 13 October 2026the livery's name, who ran it and its first year (no colours taken)
- 458530, Barnes, September 3rd 2025.jpg (photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0) Wikimedia Commons, 3 September 2025still carried in passenger service in September 2025 (458530, a 458/5); the last 458/5s were withdrawn by March 2026
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_to_Bournemouth_TRSMD_passes_Basingstoke_21_07_23_(53060699562).jpg){kind=link}
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unverified
- How many are in use: 7 in service and 21 stored is Rail Express's count (September 2026), read through Wikipedia, whose own table lists eight unit numbers; the Southern Electric Group's reviews say 'Class 458 units stored' (June 2026) and 'Class 458 continues in service' (August 2026); Rail (February 2026) reports SWR's decision not to use the refurbished 458s in its new timetable
- SWR's plan to withdraw the 458s once enough Arterios are in service: Modern Railways (May 2026), read through Wikipedia
- The 458/5s' withdrawal by March 2026: Rail Express (May 2026), read through Wikipedia; Alstom confirms that eight remained five-car in December 2024
- The 458/5 conversions' years, 2013-16: Rail Engineer (May 2013) describes the plan and the first cars; the end year is Wikipedia's
- Seats: Alstom gives 234 a unit; SWR's page gives 234 standard-class seats and 12 first-class seats (declassified), so the two disagree on whether the 12 are extra
- Lease end: not confirmed from a primary source (reports vary between March and August 2027)
- Car lengths (68 ft 11 in (21.01 m) driving, 65 ft 5 in (19.94 m) intermediate), width 9 ft 2 in (2.80 m) and height 12 ft 4 in (3.77 m): Wikipedia only; for the driving car the Southern Electric Group (2002, before the cabs were rebuilt) gives 69 ft 5 in (21.16 m), and SWR's train plan scales to about 68 ft 8 in (20.93 m)
- Formation DMCO-TSO-MSO-DMCO: Wikipedia; SWR's page confirms first class in two compartments, one at each end
- Supply voltage: 750 V DC (Wikipedia)
- Door widths: drawn as the Class 334's doorways (5 ft 0 in (1,536 mm)), not measured on a 458
- The bogies: Alstom ACR (Wikipedia, citing Marsden's Traction Recognition, 2007); drawn with the Class 334's (shared style 'juniper'), as photographs of 458421 show the same arrangement; not from a bogie drawing
- The underframe: the DMCO's positions to about 300 mm and heights to about 100 mm (the near rail reads +75-100 mm); the TSO's and MSO's from one very oblique photograph of a middle car that may be either, to about 2 ft 0 in (600 mm), drawn alike
- 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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