The locomotive is designed for hauling 5,000t freight trains on main lines.

It was jointly developed by CNR Dalian Locomotives and Toshiba.

The first prototype (SSJ3-0001) was rolled out from Dalian and underwent testing on the loop track of Beijing CARS in 2004.

Dalian commenced mass production of the locomotive in 2004 with an order of 60 pieces by the Ministry of Railways (MOR).

MOR later increased the order from 60 to 240, than to 640, and finally to 1040 locomotives.