Class 455/8 EMU

The 4-Car Class 455 units were introduced by British Rail for suburban services from London Waterloo and Victoria. These trains were built to the same external design as the Class 317 but used recycled traction equipment from old 4-SUB units.

The 455/8 was the first batch built between 1982 and 1984 and featured the earlier front end but full-size hopper windows. These were split between the South West and South Central Divisions.

Following privatisation, these units passed to South West Trains / SWR and Connect SouthCentral / Southern. All units have been refurbished with the Southern units receiving modified cab fronts without end gangways.