Changes to our fleet: Withdrawal of Class 442
we have taken the hard decision to permanently withdraw our Class 442 trains which haven’t been used since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
There is positive news too that I am pleased to share with you that sets our fleet strategy and Bournemouth depot’s forward plans in the medium-term; we have extended our lease with Porterbrook for the Class 458s, who will be converting them back to 4-car 100mph units whilst at the same time refurbishing them to make them suitable for our longer-distance journeys. This fleet will be based at Bournemouth depot, going towards protecting the workforce there.
The Class 442 units will be retired from service and go through a process to remove useful spares and dispose of the vehicles. This is obviously an abrupt and unexpected end to the fleet; however, given the reduction in our customer numbers and expected future growth, we do have to take a realistic view of future demand and deliver the most efficient service we can for our customers and the taxpayer.