The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2-HAL to the electric multiple-unit passenger trains built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London Victoria to Maidstone and Gillingham (Kent).

When building the stock for the Medway electrification of the lines from Gravesend to Gillingham, from Strood to Maidstone West and from Otford to Maidstone East the Southern produced the very basic, utilitarian 2-Hal which was in considerable contrast to the comfortable 2-Bil, 2-Nol and 4-Lav stock that preceeded them.

For this extension of electrification to Gillingham and Maidstone, seventy-six two-car units known as 2 HAL were constructed at Eastleigh works on new underframes from Lancing.

"Southern Main Line Semi-Fast And Slow Stock - some history and some questions" appeared in 3 parts in Live Rail. This article describes the history of unit types 2Nol, 2Bil, 2Hal and 4Lav which entered traffic through the 1930s for the Brighton, Portsmouth and Medway electrification schemes of the inter-war years.

As the last 2 Bil unit was being completed at the end of 1938, designs were already drawn up for a new type of 2-car main line and branch unit, the 2 Hal. Robert Maunsell had retired in 1937 and Oliver Bulleid was now the Southern Railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer.

The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2Hal to the electric multiple units built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London to Maidstone and Gillingham (Kent). This type of unit survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 402.

Ex-SR 2-HAL EMUs at Portsmouth Harbour station, on a bright sunny day in July 1960, with unit 2614 and car S10732S nearest the camera. The unit still has the early-BR 'Unicycling Lion' emblem on the side.

The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2-HAL to the electric multiple units built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London Victoria to Maidstone and Gillingham (Kent). This type of unit survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 402.

The Southern Railway built over 150 2-BIL electric multiple units for the DC third rail electric multiple units during the 1930s, to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from London to Eastbourne, Portsmouth and Reading.

The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 2-HAL to the electric multiple units built during the late 1930s to work long-distance semi-fast services on the newly electrified lines from …