Farewell train tour raises over £45,000 for charity

South Western Railway's farewell tour for the class 455 trains raised the money for three separate charities

Author: Will HarrisPublished 29th Dec 2025

South Western Railway have raised over £45,000 for three separate charities through a train's farewell tour

Tickets for the farewell tour for the Class 455 trains were £45.50 and sold out within 15 seconds.

The event itself took place on 21 December and saw two Class 455s run through places including Guildford and Epsom.

The event was originally only meant to have one train, however due to the scale of demand, a second train was added.

SWR says hundreds came to the event where ticket sales and merch sales were able to raise the money for Macmillan, The Alex Wardle Foundation and Railway Children.

The fleet of the red Class 455 trains came into service in 1983 and have served Surrey, Berkshire and south-west London for over 40 years.

They're being replaced with the new fleet of Arterio trains, that have been running since January 2024.

The Arterio trains were added to timetables last year

As the new fleet of Arterio trains continue to get rolled out, the Class 455s will be permanently removed from the schedule at the end of the year

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.