8 & 10 Carriage Trains - SW Trains

[Stefano Papiro]

Why is it that during the Summer periods SW Trains run many 10 Carriage trains to Waterloo and now they are only running 8 Carriage trains...??
As far as I can work out most of the stations have been extended - ours has at motspur Park....
The trains are so packed in the mornings its terrible.....

 

[norbitonflyer]

Now the 2-car 456s have gone, ten car trains can only be formed from five-car units - Class 458/5s and Class 707s, both of which are now in short supply as the former are being taken out of service to be converted to 458/4s for the Portsmouth line, and the latter are going to South Eastern. Ten car trains are therefore becoming more and more thin on the ground as these transfers continue.

They should all have gone now, but the transfers have been slowed down as the 5- and 10-car class 710s to replace them (and also to replace the 455s) are now four years late entering into service. The 455s, not being promised to anyone else except the scrapman, are soldiering on, but being 4-car units cannot be formed into 10-car trains.

 

[XCTurbostar]

As far as I can work out most of the stations have been extended - ours has at motspur Park....

The platform extension work (Suburban 10-car project) was to support 4+4+2 (455+455+456) and later the new 701 program.

As for the withdrawal of the Class 456s.. this was one of the many post-COVID cuts TOCs have had to make, you can blame the Department for Transport for that.