A means of transportation in which vehicles are powered by electric motors supplied with electricity from distant generating stations; for example, street cars, electric trolley buses, interurban railways, and rapid-transit lines.

Electricity is also used in the movement of vehicles in other ways, but these forms are not usually included in the category of electric traction; examples include, battery-powered electric automobiles, battery-propelled vans for city delivery or warehouse use, and modern diesel-electric locomotives in which the wheels are driven by electric motors powered by diesel engines.