Southern leased 17 to operate the extended Gatwick Express service which began in December 2008.
Originally.
some units were kept out of service for spare parts.
In October 2008.
unit 442414 became the first unit to be fully refurbished inside and out.

The new extended Gatwick Express service was introduced on 15 December 2008.
The new service, operating Monday to Friday, comprised six services in the morning from Brighton and six services to Brighton in the evening with an additional service terminating at Haywards Heath.

In addition.
some peak-hour services to/from London Bridge to Brighton and Eastbourne were operated by pairs of Class 442s.
In April 2009.
Southern took an extra two units from Eastleigh Works to make up for the shortfall in units caused by their use on other services.

When Govia retained the Southern franchise, it was announced that the remaining off-lease 442s would return to service after an overhaul to replace Class 460s.
In 2012.
the branding on the units was modified to read simply 'Express' rather than 'Gatwick Express' to avoid passenger confusion when used on fast Brighton Main Line services that do not call at Gatwick.

Govia ordered 108 Class 387/2 carriages for the Brighton and Gatwick Express routes.
The 387s began to enter service on 29 February 2016, with the Class 442s phased out by the end of 2016, with the exception of the Brighton and Eastbourne peak-time commuter services, which continued to be operated by a pair of 442s until March 2017.

The last passenger service was on 10 March 2017 which was the 17:57 London Bridge to Brighton formed of units 442410 and 442413.
A railtour ran on 12 March 2017 by units 442402 and 442408 commemorate the final send off to entire fleet from services on the Brighton Main Line.
All were taken to Ely for storage.
Southern leased 17 to operate the extended Gatwick Express service which began in December 2008. Originally. some units were kept out of service for spare parts. In October 2008. unit 442414 became the first unit to be fully refurbished inside and out.
The new extended Gatwick Express service was introduced on 15 December 2008. The new service, operating Monday to Friday, comprised six services in the morning from Brighton and six services to Brighton in the evening with an additional service terminating at Haywards Heath.
In addition. some peak-hour services to/from London Bridge to Brighton and Eastbourne were operated by pairs of Class 442s. In April 2009. Southern took an extra two units from Eastleigh Works to make up for the shortfall in units caused by their use on other services.
When Govia retained the Southern franchise, it was announced that the remaining off-lease 442s would return to service after an overhaul to replace Class 460s. In 2012. the branding on the units was modified to read simply 'Express' rather than 'Gatwick Express' to avoid passenger confusion when used on fast Brighton Main Line services that do not call at Gatwick.
Govia ordered 108 Class 387/2 carriages for the Brighton and Gatwick Express routes. The 387s began to enter service on 29 February 2016, with the Class 442s phased out by the end of 2016, with the exception of the Brighton and Eastbourne peak-time commuter services, which continued to be operated by a pair of 442s until March 2017.
The last passenger service was on 10 March 2017 which was the 17:57 London Bridge to Brighton formed of units 442410 and 442413. A railtour ran on 12 March 2017 by units 442402 and 442408 commemorate the final send off to entire fleet from services on the Brighton Main Line. All were taken to Ely for storage.
British Rail Class 442