#3300
Harris
🇦🇺 Australia ·built by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company· from 1956· Melbourne suburban electric multiple unit train
5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Harris 795M Newport Railway Museum 25-09-2022: Fork99· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. Harris 903M Newport Railway Museum 25-09-2022: Fork99· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. Harris greaser train Newport 2014: Alphaslucas· CC0
- 4. Refurbished Harris Train: Alphaslucas· CC0
- 5. Refurbished Harris: Hera Sheppard· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Harris trains are the first steel-bodied electric multiple unit (EMU) trains to operate on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They were introduced in 1956, by the Victorian Railways, and last operated in 1988, although a number of the carriages were converted for other uses and are still operating. They were named after Norman Charles Harris, Chairman of Commissioners of the Victorian Railways, between 1940 and 1950.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 70 years ago, in 1956.
- Weighs about as much as 93 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 18.6 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 32 years (1956–1988).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1956
- in service from
- 1956
- retired
- 1988
- status
- retired
- number built
- 60
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- builders
- Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, Martin & King, Victorian Railways, Newport Workshops
- operators
- Victorian Railways
- top speed
- 129 km/h
- power
- 151 kW
- gauge
- 1,600 mm Irish broad gauge
- electric system
- 1.5 kV DC Overhead lines
- formation
- M-T-T-M "Blocks" and BT-T-M "Units"
- length
- 18.6 m
- weight
- 560 t
- capacity
- 92 passengers
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5664745, Wikipedia: Harris (train) (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.