List of British Rail electric multiple unit classes

This page lists every electric-powered multiple unit allocated a TOPS classification or used on the mainline network since 1948 (i.e. British Railways and post-privatisation). For a historical overview of electric multiple unit development in Great Britain, see British electric multiple units.

British Rail operated a wide variety of electric multiple units for use on electrified lines:

These use electrical switching devices (thyristors and transistors) and have electronic power control.

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

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, Manchester and Merseyside and the OHLE lines in Greater Manchester. The DC electric network around Tyneside had been de-electrified by the time TOPS was introduced, and the stock withdrawn or transferred to the Southern Region.

The original BEMU was a one-off unit, withdrawn before the introduction of TOPS.

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

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