NIR purchased eight British Rail Class 488 electric multiple unit coaches in 2001 that been converted from Mark 2F coaches for the Gatwick Express service from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport. They were renumbered 8941-8948, The worked with NIR Generator Van 8911. They were withdrawn on 19 January 2005, having been replaced by new C3K units. They were reintroduced in September 2006 to provide extra capacity on the Portadown to Belfast (Central) service, making one trip every morning, hauled by a Class 111 locomotive. An ex-Anglia MkIIf DBSO, No. 9712 (renumbered by NIR as 8918), was bought that year to work with the Gatwick stock, but overhaul and regauging took so long that by the time it arrived in Northern Ireland in 2009, the Gatwicks had been withdrawn. Their final passenger run was on 18 June 2009.