The British Rail Class 70 is a Co-Co mainline freight GE PowerHaul locomotive series manufactured by General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States.

In November 2007, Freightliner announced Project Genesis, a procurement plan for 30 freight locomotives from General Electric (GE).

The locomotives ordered were intended to match older types in terms of haulage capacity whilst at the same time being more fuel-efficient.

[9][10] The original plan was for two months of testing, with the locomotives then spending a further three weeks being modified where necessary and prepared for transport to the United Kingdom.

[16] On 5 January 2011, 70012 was severely damaged while being unloaded at Newport Dock when part of the lifting gear failed, causing the locomotive to fall back into the hold of the ship.

Locomotives 70802–70805 had already been constructed at the time of the order and were shipped to the United Kingdom in January 2014, with the rest assembled and delivered later the same year.