South Western Railway (SWR) has announced a special farewell tour for its iconic Class 455 red commuter trains, marking the end of an era for one of the most familiar sights on south west London's rail network.

The 'Class 455 Farewell' tour will take place on Sunday, 21 December, giving rail enthusiasts and commuters a final chance to travel aboard the trains before they are fully retired at the end of the year.

The fleet, which has served millions of passengers between Guildford, Twickenham, Windsor and London Waterloo for over 40 years, is being replaced by SWR's new fleet of Arterio trains — part of a £1 billion modernisation programme.

The farewell journey, organised in partnership with the Branch Line Society, will take passengers along familiar suburban routes such as Epsom and Kingston, as well as through rarely used sections of track including the District Line branch between East Putney and Wimbledon, and Haslemere on the Portsmouth Direct Line.

Only 400 tickets will be available for the event, priced at £45.50, with sales opening at 11am on Monday, 10 November via the Branch Line Society website.

Arterio (left) and Class 455 at London Waterloo (credit: South Western Railway).

All profits will go to The Alex Wardle Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, and The Railway Children.

Neil Drury, SWR's Engineering and Infrastructure Director, said: "While customers are getting used to the many benefits of our new fleet of Arterio trains, we know there are a lot of enthusiasts who will be sad to see our classic red trains go.

"The farewell tour will be a fitting tribute to these trains, which have been a staple of our railway and worked incredibly hard for more than four decades. Best of all, the proceeds will go to three specially selected charities."

The Class 455 fleet was built between 1982 and 1985 by British Rail Engineering Limited, entering service on 28 March 1983.

Seventy units have operated across the SWR suburban network ever since, becoming a daily fixture for commuters across Richmond, Kingston, and the wider South West London area.

The new Arterio trains will soon replace all Class 455 services, offering 50% more capacity, Wi-Fi, charging points, air conditioning, and accessible toilets, while serving 98 stations across the network.

Tickets and more details about the farewell tour will be available from the Branch Line Society website from Monday, 10 November.

READ MORE: Richmond resident raises over £2,000 for Epilepsy Action in Hampton Court Palace 10k.

We want to provide Twickenham with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.