Rail Minister and Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond will be visiting South West Trains’ Wimbledon depot on Monday 30 June to officially launch the depot’s new bogie drop.

Around £6million has been invested in Wimbledon depot, which is managed by the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, including major investment in the bogie drop, a new piece of state-of-the-art maintenance equipment.

Wimbledon depot is already one of the busiest train maintenance depots in the country with an average of 250 train carriages being maintained there every night, and the team of around 170 depot staff are responsible for delivering some of the most reliable trains in the UK.

The Government’s High Level Output Specification (HLOS) programme will deliver an extra 108 carriages for use on the South West Trains’ network and these will all be maintained at Wimbledon depot. The major investment in the new bogie drop facility will ensure that the team can maintain the additional carriages provided through HLOS and keep their position as one of the best depots in the country.

To mark the completion of this major investment, Stephen Hammond will be joining representatives from the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance at the depot at 09.00 on Monday 30 June to officially open the new bogie drop. 
 
There will also be a chance for guests to have a sneak preview of the first refurbished Class 456 train.  The fleet of 24 Class 456 trains are also part of the multi-million-pound investment into rail services on our network through the HLOS programme.  These trains, which were previously in use on Southern, are currently being refurbished at a cost of around £15 million and once refurbished, will be similar in style to the Class 455 fleet.

The trains will feature wider doors, enabling two people to comfortably board the train at once which will help to speed up boarding. They will also have improved 2+2 seating, full CCTV, energy efficient LED lighting and a remote monitoring system that will help to improve reliability and ensure earlier identification and rectification of any faults. The first refurbished carriages will enter passenger service during the summer and will be used on services from London Waterloo to Hampton Court and Dorking.