The PV&T, like every other conventional railroads, started providing passenger service in the traditional way of having coaches hauled behind locomotives. This served the PV&T well for many years, but when the railroad started to electrify, the idea of using electric MU cars to provide commuter and suburban passenger service became very appealing.
When the PV&T electrification reached Montréal and Portland, the railroad started replacing passenger and express cars with electric passenger motors. From 1920 until 1941, the PV&T purchased about 120 passenger motors and 150 passenger trailers to handle all of its Boston, Portland, Albany, and Montréal commuter operations (at one time, there were commuter trains for almost every large city that the PV&T served, but those trains were withdrawn as the electrification proceeded) and interurban trains.
The electric cars were numbered from E001 through E120 (except for the postwar Budd order, which was numbered 1200P through 1219P to fit with the numbering scheme used by the business train) and the trailers were numbered from 1101P through 1164P. As commuter services and long-distance services declined, these cars were withdrawn from revenue service until all the commuter services had been shutdown or taken over by regional transit authorities (ditto for the interurban services, except by Amtrak & Via Rail Canada.)
Most of the retired cars ended up at the scrappers, but some of the older classic interurban-style cars ended up at one trolley museum or another.
The few that remain are:
| No. | Class | Builder | Built | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E60-63 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | converted to picture window tourist coach and assigned to CdfC |
| E64 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | stored |
| E65-69 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | converted to picture window tourist coach and assigned to CdfC |
| E70-71 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | not operational; kept as parts units |
| E72 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | converted to picture window tourist coach and assigned to CdfC |
| E73-74 | EC10 | Budd | 1954 | Coach | stored |
| E300 | ECB12 | St Louis | 1910 | Combination | ex PVRT 300, kept for New England excursion specials |
| M955 | EC1 | Niles | 1912 | Line car | from coach E1 (1947) |
| M982 | ECB11 | Brill | 1939 | Inspection car | from baggage-coach E116 (1961) |
| M981 | ECB11 | Brill | 1939 | Line car | from baggage-coach E117 (1961) |
| M980 | ECB11 | Brill | 1939 | Line car | from baggage-coach E120 (1960) |
| 688X | THE1 | P&W | 1954 | HEP car | rebuilt from AMTK E9B #456 |
| 1001P | TD5 | Pullman | 1925 | Dining car | ex T1147 (official train) |
| 1005P | TO5 | Pullman | 1925 | Observation | ex T1146 (official train) |
| 1006P | TC5 | Pullman | 1925 | Office car | ex T1168 (official train) |
| 1013P | TS10 | Pullman | 1939 | Sleeper | ex T1250 (official train) |
| 1021P | TVD13 | Budd | 1945 | Vista-dome | ex T1261, to official train (1971) |
| 1022P | TB9 | St Louis | 1939 | Baggage | ex tool car M1102 exx baggage car T1241 (1960) |
| 1200X | THC9 | St Louis | 1930 | Heater car | rebuilt from baggage car T1242 (1966) |
A note on PV&T interurban classification
The classification scheme that the PV&T uses for interurban motor and trailer cars is to have a single letter prefix saying whether the car is motorised (E) or not (T). It is followed with a string of letters describing what the car can carry, then a number giving the PV&T order number, followed optionally by a letter for orders that are broken up between different carbuilders. Thus, class ECB12 is a motorized (E) Coach-Baggage car from order 12.