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Class 444 is Britain's most reliable train

Coming top in 's 2010 Reliability Focus Group (ReFocus, formerly the National Fleet Reliability Improvement Programme NFRIP) awards is Siemens Desiro Class 444 fleet with an outstanding 55,272 miles per 5 minute delay moving annual average (MP5MD MAA) rating. In fact South West Trains yet again came out of these awards demonstrating what a class act it is for engineering and maintenance with four of its fleets in the top ten. Indeed the once loathed notoriously unreliable Class 458s came third just ahead of the Siemens Class 450s! The moral of these awards is that dedication and applying best practice works, with similar fleets of different Train Operating Companies having disparate performance.

Congratulations to all involved.

444001 on a down Fratton working passing New Malden on 5th January 2007 Leader of the pack, 444001, with a down Fratton working passing New Malden on 5th January 2007

photograph by Colin Duff