Two units had remained in service until 22 May 2010, 3Cig units nos. 1497 and 1498, which were used on the
Lymington Branch Line. These two units were withdrawn from service on 22 May 2010 and replaced by
Class 158 Diesel Multiple Units. Towards the end of their life, with the increasing use of newer trains which were equipped with sliding or
plug doors, these trains were known commonly as "
slam-door trains". 1497 was initially preserved at The Mid Norfolk Railway, now on the Lavender Line and 1498 preserved on the
Epping Ongar Railway until sold and exported to Ireland. The latter has had an extra carriage added to restore its original 4Cig formation. After rail privatisation in the mid-1990s the different divisions of British Rail were divided up into different franchises. The three former SR division – South-Eastern, South Central and South-Western – all operated 4Cig units, and are dealt with separately here.
South Eastern Trains South Eastern Trains (SET) operated a small fleet of three 'Phase 1' and 22 'Phase 2' 4Cig units. The franchise was originally operated by
Connex South Eastern. All but one of the 'Phase 2' units continued to carry the obsolete
Network SouthEast livery. One unit, no. 1870, was repainted into Connex South Eastern yellow and white. The three 'Phase 1' units were painted in white undercoat livery, since their use was originally only supposed to be short-term. However, despite this, the units remained in traffic for seven more years, from 1997 to 2004. They were popularly known as "Ghosts" by rail enthusiasts. From 2003 units started to be withdrawn, having been replaced by the second batch of the new
"Electrostar" units. The three 'Phase 1' units had gone by mid-2004. The final unit, no. 1843, lingered on for several months longer than its classmates, eventually being withdrawn in mid-November 2004. All the SET units have been scrapped.
South Central / Southern The South Central Division inherited the largest fleet of 4Cig units. Originally this included all remaining 'Phase 1' units (though some were later transferred to
South Eastern Trains), 35 'Phase 2' units, and the four 8Dig units. The remaining few 4Big units were also used on the former Central Division. The South Central franchise was initially won by
Connex South Central, which applied its yellow and white livery to most stock. In 2000 it lost the franchise to the
Go-Ahead Group, which operated the franchise as
South Central. In 2004 this was changed to
Southern. Four 'Phase 1' units (nos. 1735/38/40, 1908) and eight 'Phase 2' units (nos. 1854/56-62) received Southern's new green livery. In 1997 the remaining 4Big units were withdrawn. Eight were transferred to
South West Trains. The remaining eleven units were heavily rebuilt at
Eastleigh Works, with compartments removed and opened out, and the buffet carriages withdrawn. The modified units were reclassified as
Class 421/7 and renumbered into the 1401–1411 range. The units were also known as
3Cop units, which denoted their intended use, i.e. dedicated to
East Coastway and
West Coastway services out of
Brighton. Two units received names – a rarity for slam-door EMU stock. • 1408 -
Littlehampton Progress 2000 • 1409 - Operation Perseus In 2004 some units were augmented to four carriages with the addition of a 'Phase 1' intermediate trailer, and thus became 4Cop units. From 2003 Southern started to replace its slam-door fleet with new
Class 377 Electrostar units. In general the 'Phase 1' units were withdrawn first due to their age, but as deliveries of the Electrostars increased some 'Phase 2' units were also taken out of service. By late 2004 only a handful of 'Phase 1' units and 4Cops remained in service. The final 'Phase 1' units in traffic were nos. 1704/08/11/12/14/17/43 and 1901, with the final unit, no. 1704, being withdrawn in February 2005. The final 4Cop units, nos. 1404/10/11, were withdrawn in March 2005. The 'Phase 2' units lasted longer and two, nos. 1805 and 1866, were retained beyond August 2005, when slam-door trains lost all diagrammed work. They lasted until 19 November 2005, when they worked a farewell railtour, following which they were withdrawn.
South West Trains on 19 July 2003. This unit is one of eight "Greyhound" units converted from redundant 4Big units for use by
South West Trains. The buffet coach was replaced with a spare
4Cep trailer vehicle, which is identifiable by its different windows as the second vehicle in the unit.
South West Trains inherited a small fleet of twelve 'Phase 2' 4Cig units, and the larger fleet of 22 "Greyhound" units which had been modified to cut several minutes from journey times on the Portsmouth Direct line with its 1 in 80 gradients by adding a second stage of field weakening to improve performance at higher speeds (17% at 54 mph, 30% at 90 mph). In 1997 the fleet was augmented with the addition of eight 4Big units from
Connex South Central. These operated with the counter in the buffet carriages locked out of use. By 1999 these units had been stored, but then eight additional "Greyhound" units were converted from the redundant 4Bigs. The units were reclassified as
Class 421/8, and renumbered in the range 1392–1399. The modifications included the removal of the buffet carriages, which were replaced by spare intermediate trailers from mechanically similar
4Cep units. Most of these trailers came from 4Cep units to make 3Cep units, but a few came from withdrawn units. These trailers were immediately recognisable since although they had the same body profile as the rest of the unit the windows were different and they had InterCity70 seating. The buffet carriages were withdrawn, although many were saved for preservation. In December 2004 unit no. 1394 was reduced to a three-car unit with the removal of its Cep trailer. It was reclassified as
Class 421/7, renumbered 1499, and dedicated to the
Lymington Branch Line service, where it replaced the previous incumbent unit, no.
1198. Withdrawals of units started in mid-2004, when many new
Class 444 and
Class 450 "
Desiro" units became available for service. By the end of 2004 just a handful of units remained in traffic. The final few units were withdrawn in May 2005, with the last in traffic being 1304/09/12/16, 1392/95/96/97/98, 1499 and 1881/90. The final slam-door service ran on 26 May from
London Waterloo to
Bournemouth using units 1396, 1398 and
4Vep 3536. Following withdrawal two units, nos. 1304 and 1881, were transferred to "warm storage" for use by
Southern if required. Most of the other units were sent for scrap, with the exception of nos. 1392 and 1499. Services on the
Lymington Branch Line were operated as a "heritage" operation using one of two refurbished 3Cig units, nos. 1497 and 1498. The two units were launched into service on 12 May 2005 having been repainted into heritage liveries, 1497 in blue and grey and 1498 in the green that the units carried when built. However, in May 2010, the new timetable changes saw the units replaced for more modern stock to save maintenance on a non-standard fleet of two units. As stated in the relevant timetable, "The slam door trains will be remembered with affection as they pass into history." The change took place on 22 May 2010 and the units have been replaced by a
Class 158 on weekdays and a
Class 450 Desiro at weekends. The class 421s have both been preserved due to historic significance. ==Accidents and incidents==