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...has appeared on the SWT website:

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/longertrains.aspx

First decent picture I've seen so far of how the 460 front has changed. The new gangwayed cab is what all 36 converted units will eventually get...

First carriages arriving ...

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2013-10-22/new-carriages-on-south-west-trains/?

I see both 100 and 108 quoted.  Same carriages, I'm guessing?   Perhaps 100 in service and 8 under maintenance at any time? Are they purely being added to existing trains, or is there any pensioning off of smaller and older fleets?  Anything being cascaded within SWT to allow diesel diagrams on electric lines to be switched to electric diagrams?

I think it's more 100 as a round number. There are still two distinct parts - the 30 458s (120 vehicles) become 36 458/5s (180 vehicles) for use on the Windsor lines, and 24 456s (48 vehicles) arrive to be used as 2-car bolt-on extensions to 455s on the SWML. That's 108 new vehicles.

The words about where they will be seen are perhaps not to be trusted anyway. The web page says of the 458/5s:

That's going to be a surprise for NR, who expect them to be going to Windsor and Weybridge via Hounslow, but are still debating whether to lengthen platforms from Virginia Water to Reading even by the end of CP5 (2019). I thought that was in the plan, date TBD, but the latest Wessex Route Plan (September 2013) says (p26):

Of course these trains do have ASDO*, but there may need to be some signal-moving as well before they can come to Reading.

*ASDO = Automatic Selective Door Operation

The 'Reading Lines', the 'Windsor Lines', the 'Windsor Side' (of the whole station), the 'Reading and Windsor Line' (as it passes through Richmond or wherever)... 

Various names heard at different times for any or all of that four track 'branch line' that turns off the 'Main Lines' at Clapham Jn.   ;D

As said above the 458/5s are intended to be used predominantly on the inner routes which have recently been the preserve of the 'high capacity' variant of the 450 - the 450/5. So Windsor/Weybridge/Hounslow loop services. The 450/5 are being partially un-modified to get their first class seating back, although the extra stand back space by the doors is being retained, so although these latter trains are being used as part of the general 450 fleet they are retaining their /5 numbering.

I explicitly asked in the last SWT webchat if the internal cascade of 450s would results in fewer DMUs being used on purely third rail routes, and the answer was yes they would, (but before anyone asks they do not become available for other franchises), as the second part of the '108 vehicle' improvements includes strengthening mainline services, including some on the Salisbury route.

Although the 456s were initially touted in some of the rail press as lengthening many main suburban services to ten car, this is not yet generally the case because it would require platform extensions at Waterloo. So the result of the 456 cascade is seen mostly on mainline routes, where various long distance services are being augmented eg from 8 to 12 car, or 6 to 9, and as mentioned this includes some morning trains from Yeovil Jn and Salisbury, and to Exeter in the evening peak. 

An unexpected change which highlights that this is not solely about '10 car trains' is that the Guildford Ascot route is to be operated by single or paired 456s - freeing up the 5 current units (a mix of 458 and 450) for use elsewhere.

It is assumed in EMU groups that the definite swap is that the 6 car 159 operated Portsmouth to Basingstoke and then to Waterloo service that runs weekday mornings (the 0642 peak extra semi-fast off Basingstoke) will be the obvious DMU diagram to be definitely changed to EMU operation.

While all these internal cascades are happening though, the 455 fleet is also being life extended with an AC traction package like those on most modern DC EMUs, so this will take a couple of units at a time out of action during a period of a few years as well.

SWT issued press releases on the two phases of the project; the editors notes (particularly in the second one) explain some of the knock on effects on mainline routes:

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extracapacity.aspx

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extra-capacity-on-south-west-trains.aspx

I've consolidated all the service alterations intended into one list, hopefully
showing that the major effect of the 456 cascade is outside the suburban area. 
DMU service alterations are also highlighted:


Paul

Many thanks for your detailed and very instructive post, paul7755.

I've also added "ASDO = Automatic Selective Door Operation" to our forum's 'acronyms and abbreviations (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/acronyms.html)' page.

I think ASDO is a fairly recent term.

Trains like 375s and 377s have had an advanced SDO system (based on GPS) since new. This meant that the train knew it's location and released the doors on the required number of carriages.

The class 444 and 450 SDO system was a little more primitive in that you are limited to manually releasing either just one door, all doors or doors by unit (i.e. in a 10 car train, if the platform was 9 cars long you were stuck with releasing the front 5 cars).

In recent years Network Rail have been fitting balaises at stations, so that when a carriage of a compatible train passes over, only the doors that have received the signal from it open. This is where ASDO has come from, to distinguish the more basic SDO operation.

This whole operation shows what can done with modern EMUs to change their configuration and update them for future use,

Not quite and ugly ducking into a swan but equivalent!

There was a good article about SWT's version of ASDO, 'Tracklink III' and how it has been developed in Rail Engineer online magazine a while ago:

http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/04/12/being-selective/

The ASDO balises (as shown in the article photographs) were fitted at the entry to the Southern platforms at Reading quite a few months ago.

The system used in SWT units up until now is more properly referred to as 'Unit Deselect' abbreviated UDS, although people do talk about it as a form of SDO.

IIRC the original SN system was purely GPS, so at any given station it would only provide for one setting applicable to the shortest platform.  They subsequently added balises where necessary so that individual platforms and direction of travel could be separately dealt with.

Paul

This  morning an SWT train came through Wokingham non-stop just as I arrived at 11:10. I took it for a 450, but as it left I saw it had a 458 number. Looking at Realtimetrains, this is a pretty regular run at the moment, so I guess these are the new 458/5s clocking up their acceptance miles. Why they are this doing by a route Wimbledon-Weybridge-Virginia Water-Staines-Reading-Staines and reverse I've no idea - though miles is miles, by any route. So next week, you may see one at Reading at around 10:50 or 12:50.

I expect the route they are using simply has the capacity to fit the extra paths in, and is near enough to Wimbledon.

I actually clocked one in P4 quite a while ago, 4th December, picture below.

Paul

Thanks for sharing that photo paul7755.  They certainly do look very different (and much more 450-like) now.

I wonder how they've been kitted out internally?

2+2 seating throughout, extra grab handles and poles etc.  There's some photos around:

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h1c05e5c1 (http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h1c05e5c1)

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h148fd1ca (http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h148fd1ca)

The number of seats in the 458/5 is broadly the same as the number in an unconverted 458, give or take a few - the extra capacity is all about overall standing space.

Nice shot here of the two units running together:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iainbrownston/11220488866/in/photostream/

Paul

The in-service date for these units has slipped several times since the original announcement (deliveries spread over May-December 2013 I think). SWT have now updated their last news item (which just said "starting to introduce the fleet of new carriages into passenger service during the winter"). This  (http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extra%20carriages.aspx) now says (of the ex-460 458/5s):
... and:

Paul Clifton on BBC South news was adding a bit more context to that bit about "a lot of work", saying that SWT had found as many as 200 faults on the trains we have seen sneaking up and down the line on test. Alstom/Wabtec had, they said, underestimated the work involved, and Alstom's statement in reply did not really try to rebut that.

They've gone for the SWT blue livery on the 458/5's then?

I assumed they would have gone for the SWT white "mainline" livery as per the Junipers (although maybe the Junipers should have been in the blue livery themselves).

As noted earlier, they look very like the 450s they will replace on the Windsor service. Most passengers may not spot the difference, other than the extra length.

Paul Clifton, however, still thinks they are due to start off running to Reading. At least SWT now say they (among other players) are working towards getting them to Reading by 2019.

Just to reinforce the message about the protracted nature of the commissioning process on the first new train, today I saw the same pair (451+453) sidling through Wokingham as was pictured in early December (above). I presume this is the first pair that was to do 5000 miles of commissioning.

Minister Stephen Hammond unveils first of 108 additional carriages - https://twitter.com/transportgovuk/status/441933633973002240/photo/1

Good to see, in that tweet, that the DfT went with 'additional', rather than 'new', as has often been reported elsewhere.

Can just about get away with saying they are 'new' to SWT, but they are still rebuilds of 14 year old Class 460 stock.

More on the Waterloo-Windsor launch - http://www.globalrailnews.com/2014/03/11/new-10-car-south-west-trains-service-launched-from-waterloo/

The CP5 Enhancements Delivery Plan (http://www.networkrail.co.uk/cp5-delivery-plan/cp5-enhancements-delivery-plan.pdf) (link loads PDF) now contains, and so confirms, the timescale for 10-car trains to run to Reading (and Ash Vale).

Activities and milestones

Milestone	Description	Date	Status
GRIP 3 completion	Single option selection	June 2015	Regulated Output
GRIP 4 completion	Single option scope defined	September 2015	Indicative
GRIP 6 start	Start on site	April 2016	Indicative
GRIP 6 completion	Infrastructure ready for use	May 2017	Indicative

What it does not say is how many platforms are to be lengthened to 204 m (or longer), and how many left for SDO to cope with. All it has is this rather ambiguous statement:

Just a minute - there's another bit further down - but no, that only covers the ASDO infrastructure and platform works to Windsor and Weybridge via Virginia Water, and on the LSW Main Lines. These are already well past GRIP 3, so presumably deciding what gets done to which station only gets done during GRIP 3.

It's odd that they've even mentioned Chertsey in the context of the Reading route, having already decided to use ASDO there on the existing project of 10 car trains to Weybridge (via Hounslow).

The only thing I can think of is this - could it be because when Reading services are diverted that way they take over calls at stations where ASDO would normally be OK, on trains terminating or starting at Weybridge, but would be much busier when running through to Waterloo?

I guess the point about Egham itself is that the Reading trains are probably the busier trains at the moment because they are the fastest to Waterloo, so there was less of a case for lengthening the Weybridge trains while  they are the only 10 car, but once all trains are 10 car the BCR changes? 

PS - I heard there's another pair of 458/5s out on trial this week...

Paul

My reading of "The project includes a review of options to allow 10 car services to stop at Feltham, Egham and Chertsey" is that the earlier decision to not extend their platforms should be reconsidered. OK, Chertsey isn't on the way to Reading, but it's still logical to do it as part of this package which involves doing the same for a whole load of other stations.

They've certainly done similar to that before, certain platforms on the Southern side at Clapham Jn were rolled up into the 'Wessex route' suburban 10 car lengthening, because it made more sense to have one contract at one location.   As you say it may just have been found cheaper in the long run to add Chertsey to the other dozen or so stations on the additional routes...

Paul

Maybe someone has come up with something that alters the cost/benefit balance that led to the original decision to not extend the platforms. It could be a cheaper way to do it, or a better case for it - I would not have thought SDO was really a good idea at Feltham, for example.