STAGECOACH has announced an order worth £210m with Siemens and train leasor Angel Trains for a fleet of 30 five-car Desiro City EMUs for its South West Trains suburban commuter services to and from London Waterloo.

SOUTH West Trains (SWT) and Britain's transport minister Mr Stephen Hammond unveiled the first two of its additional class 458/5 five car emus at London's Waterloo station on March 7.

BRITAIN's Department for Transport (DfT) has published a prior information notice in the Official Journal of the European Union for the direct award of a new contract to Stagecoach for the operation of the South West Trains (SWT) franchise.

Upgrading older electric trains with solid state inverters and ac traction converters can deliver improved performance and energy efficiency for a fraction of the cost of new trains. Keith Barrow looks at how Porterbrook, South West Trains, and Vossloh Kiepe are unlocking the potential of re-tractioning.

BRITISH train operator South West Trains (SWT) has published a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) for an order for between 135 and 250 emu cars, which will be used to increase capacity on suburban routes south of London.

BRITISH rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook has awarded Vossloh Kiepe a £40m contract to supply IGBT traction equipment for the fleet of 91 class 455 emus used by South West Trains on commuter services from London Waterloo.

BRITSH train operator South West Trains (SWT) together with Siemens and leasing company Angel Trains have announced plans to equip all 45 SWT class 444 Desiro five-car emus with Wi-Fi and also forward facing CCTV in drivers cabs in a £3.2 million project to be completed in the next year.