A passenger trainset that uses heavy battery banks to supply power to its electric traction motors. These units operate on branch lines or urban routes where overhead wires or third rails are impractical or too expensive to install. They recharge at terminal stations or while running under short sections of electrified wire.
The new battery electric multiple unit takes about twenty minutes to fast-charge at the terminus before heading back out.
Also heard as
- BEMU
Related terms
EMU
An electric multiple unit is a self-propelled passenger train powered by electricity.
Multiple unit
A train configuration where several self-propelled cars are coupled and controlled from a single cab.
Bi-mode
A locomotive or trainset equipped to draw power from an external electrical supply or generate its own electricity with a diesel engine.