Walkers/Adtranz Electric Multiple Unit (EMU)

In the mid-70s, it was decided to start electrifying Brisbane's suburban railways at 25,000V 50Hz. The first section to be completed was Darra-Ferny Grove in November 1979.

QR decided to order a batch of modern air-conditioned commuter trains from Walkers/ASEA at Maryborough, Qld for use of the electrification. The units were towed down to Brisbane by Diesel-Electric for testing under the wires between Darra and Ferny Grove.

The EMUs, as they were known, were made up of three permanently coupled cars and seated 248 passengers. Units 01-59 and 80-88 were 'double-ended' and comprised a Driver Motor Car (DM), a Motor Car (M) and a Driver Trailer Car (DT), while units 60-79 comprised a DM, M and Trailer Car (T) and were 'single-ended'. For practical reasons, the latter didn't run singly.

All cars were air-conditioned with air-operated doors, which could be opened by passengers and were closed by drivers. A public address system, UHF crew-to-crew radio and crew intercommunication systems were fitted. Guards sometimes made passenger announcements when the automatic announcements weren't working.

The 88 suburban units weighed approx. 150 tonnes, were 72.4m over couplers, and had a maximum service speed of 100km/h (62.5mph) and an emergency stopping distance from that speed of only 415 metres.

They were delivered between July 1979 and December 1986. In 1984, 48 units, which had been purchased for $44.26 million, were sold and leased back. In late 1993, they were fitted with yellow cab ends for high visibility reasons. In 1998-2000, the cab windows were modified on EMU60-88 for better visibility and also the fitting of a rear view mirror and security cameras inside. In 2000, it was decided to upgrade the first series EMUs with high visibility cab ends which incorporated a fender (which incorporates an anti-climber to prevent outriders hanging off the back of a unit) with ditch lights and a new colour scheme with a black band across the windscreen (hence the nickname of these units, 'Bandicoots'). EMU01-19 were upgraded with the Bandicoot mods.

25kV 50Hz phase current was collected from the overhead by a single arm pantograph mounted on the roof of M (centre) cars. Traction motors, axle-mounted on M and DM cars, were continuously rated at 135kW each. The main brake was an electropneumatic system blended with dynamic (electric) braking, which retarded from 90km/h to 40km/h. An automatic air-brake system was provided as back-up (and for towing).

Unfortunately 2001 was a bad year for the EMUs when EMU62 was severely damaged after an Arson attack at Mayne in May, and EMU05 and EMU60 were both written off in the Cattletrain derailment at Petrie in September. EMU62 returned to service, while one 3-car unit was salvaged out of both EMU05 and EMU60 to form EMU60 (the only 6 motor unit with the Bandicoot mods).

The EMUs then went through PWD (Persons with a Disability) mods at Redbank Workshops over a couple of years. The modifications included a new internal colour scheme with high-vis yellow fixtures, fold up vestibule seats and spaces set aside behind the drivers cab for 2 wheelchairs.

Further re-engineering of the fleet started in 2009 with the removal of the manual door handles, and replacement with button operated doors.

The arrival of the NGRs in 2017 signalled the end for the EMUs. Withdrawals started in 2018, with EMU06 the first to go to North Ipswich for stripping, and by January 2019 thirty were in store. The plan was to retire the lot once all the NGRs were delivered, but with the NGRs' early problems and extra services being added, some stayed on for another six years. In August 2019 QR ran a farewell tour with EMU01 and EMU04 over two days, covering every Brisbane suburban line and re-enacting the first electric run from Ferny Grove to Darra, and both were then put aside at Ipswich Workshops for QR Heritage.

The final day came on 5 July 2025, when EMU59 ran the "End of the Line" tour out of Roma Street over the Caboolture, Ferny Grove, Ipswich and Shorncliffe lines, after more than 45 years of EMUs on the network. Scrapping has continued since. By April 2026 around 49 of the 88 units had been cut up, many of them at Ipswich, with most of the rest stored at Mayne, Redbank, Gympie, Fisherman Islands and Ipswich awaiting disposal. A couple have found other uses: EMU21 went to the Queensland Fire Department in 2021 as a training vehicle, and EMU42 was modified for the Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe in 2022.