Class 455 farewell tour - Sunday 21st December 2025
Celebrating the Class 455 fleet of trains as they head to retirement
SWR are bidding farewell to their Class 455 fleet, as the last of the red trains are finally withdrawn after 42 years of service.
Built by British Rail Engineering Limited at their workshop in York between 1982 and 1985, they entered service on what is now SWR’s suburban network on Monday 28 March 1983. They have gone on to travel many millions of miles, transporting customers from the likes of Guildford, Twickenham and Windsor to and from London Waterloo.
In recognition of their role in the lives of millions of customers, their popularity with rail enthusiasts, and to mark the end of an era on the British railway network, SWR and the Branch Line Society will run a special charter service.
The 'Class 455 Farewell’ tour will include some familiar places on the suburban network, such as Epsom and Kingston, along with a few special routes and locations, such as the District Line’s branch between East Putney and Wimbledon, plus Haslemere on the Portsmouth Direct Line*.
400 tickets will go on sale on the Branch Line Society’s website at 11am on Monday 10 November, costing £45.50 each. The profits will go to three charities, The Alex Wardle Foundation, Macmillan, and The Railway Children.
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