This article lists every

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

-powered multiple unit allocated a

TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), ...

classification or used on the mainline network since 1948, i.e.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways and post-privatisation. For a historical overview of electric

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

development in Great Britain, see British electric multiple units. British Rail operated a wide variety of

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

s for use on electrified lines: * AC units operate off (AC) from overhead wires. Where clearances for the overhead wires on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail ...

and

London, Tilbury and Southend railway The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR), was a British railway company, whose network connected Fenchurch Street railway station, Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including , , , T ...

routes were below standard, a reduced voltage of was used. The Midland Railway units used . Under the computer numbering, AC units (including mixed-voltage units that can also work off a DC supply) were given a class in the range 300-399. * DC units operate off (DC) from a third rail on the Southern Region and North London, Merseyside and Tyneside networks. The Manchester-Bury Railway line used from a side-contact third rail. The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham and "Woodhead" and initially the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

routes used from overhead wires. Under the computer numbering, DC units were given a class in the range 400-599.

AC EMUs and dual-voltage EMUs

First generation

Second generation

Modern/Third generation

These use solid state switching devices (

thyristor A thyristor (, from a combination of Greek language ''θύρα'', meaning "door" or "valve", and ''transistor'' ) is a solid-state semiconductor device which can be thought of as being a highly robust and switchable diode, allowing the passage ...

s and

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

s) and have electronic power control.

High speed trains

High speed multiple unit or fixed formation trainsets, capable of operating at speeds above .

DC EMUs

Southern Region units

The Southern Railway and its successor, the Southern Region of British Rail, used three letter codes to classify their DC EMU fleets, as shown after the

class numbers. Southern Region EMUs were classified in the 400 series under TOPS.

Pre-Nationalisation

Mark 1 and 2 bodyshell

Tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...
Stock

Rolling stock built to

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

deep tube

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...

Note that TOPS class 499 is currently allocated to

owned stock that needs to use

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

owned tracks. This does not involve any renumbering of the stock involved, and is only for electronic recording purposes.

Modern EMUs

Other DC units

The 500 series classes were reserved for miscellaneous DC EMUs not from the Southern Region. This included the DC (third/fourth rail) lines in North

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

and the OHLE lines in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. The DC electric network around

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

had been de-electrified by the time

was introduced, and the stock withdrawn or transferred to the Southern Region. 507009-LiverpoolCent-01

;TOPS classes ;Pre-TOPS classes * Ex-LNER units (Tyneside stock) * Ex-LNWR units (North London stock) * Ex-LOR units (Liverpool Overhead Railway stock) * Ex-LYR units (Manchester-Bury stock) * Ex-Mersey Railway units (Merseyside DC stock) * Ex-W&CR units (Waterloo & City Railway stock)

Battery electric multiple unit (BEMU)

The original BEMU was a one-off unit, withdrawn before the introduction of

. A new generation battery EMU (called an Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit) was created in 2014, converted from a Class 379.

Non National Rail units

All rail vehicles operating on

infrastructure are required to be given TOPS codes. For this reason,

South Yorkshire Supertram The South Yorkshire Supertram, sometimes referred to as the Sheffield Supertram, is a tram and tram-train network covering Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. The network is owned and operated by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Co ...

and

Tyne & Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The owners Nexus have ...

trains have their own TOPS classes:

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of British Rail Electric Multiple Unit Classes List British Rail electric multiple unit classes British Rail rolling stock Electric multiple units of Great Britain