#4500· Class 455
British Rail Class 455
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by British Rail Engineering Limited· from 1983· an electric multiple-unit passenger train built by BREL York between 1982 and 1985
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Southern 455 836 at Epsom Downs up front 2021: TheFrog001· CC0
- 2. Class 455 train seen on the Kingston loop line: Gremlin742· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. BR class 455 5856: Murgatroyd49· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. Class 455 units at Sunbury station in March 2024: Foulger Rail Photos· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 5. A Class 455 unit at Woking station in 2012: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 6. A Class 455 unit departs Guildford station in 2012: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 7. A Class 455 unit heads north from Guildford in 2012: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 8. A Class 455 unit heads northwards from Guildford station in 2012: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 9. Class 455 8 5801 at Clapham Junction: Tutenkhamun Sleeping· CC BY 2.0
- 10. Class 455 and Class 458 units stabled at Guildford in 2011: The Basingstoker· CC BY-SA 2.0
what is it?
The British Rail Class 455 are Mark 3-based electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by BREL between 1982 and 1985. Upon their introduction, they replaced Class 508s as well as aging Southern Railway slam-door stock on commuter services out of London Waterloo. Whilst the trains were originally built utilising recycled DC traction equipment from Southern Railway 4Sub rolling stock from the 1940s, South West Trains refitted their units with AC traction equipment provided by Vossloh in 2017; despite this change however the trains retained their original gearboxes.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 43 years ago, in 1983.
- Served for 43 years (1983–2026).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1983
- in service from
- 1983
- retired
- 2026
- status
- retired
- number built
- —
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- British Rail Engineering Limited, Holgate Road carriage works
- operators
- South West Trains, Connex South Central, South Western Railway, Southern
- top speed
- 121 km/h
- power
- —
- Dutch name
- Class 455
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q838494, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 455 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.