Refurbished Portsmouth trains will not be ready until late February, South Western Railway says
REFURBISHED trains which were due to serve Portsmouth last autumn will not be ready until late February, South Western Railway has confirmed.
It comes as the firm faces setbacks as part of its £45m programme to upgrade a 30-year-old fleet of Class-442 Wessex Electrics.
They had been due to take over services between Portsmouth and London Waterloo in December 2018, but have proved difficult to renovate because of corrosion.
Now South Western Railway has said most of the trains, which are being refurbished in Eastleigh, in Hampshire, should be ready to roll from May.
The contract for the work was awarded to Kiepe Electric UK and will include replacing traction equipment and installing new brake controls.