[5] The class was designed by General Motors-Electro Motive Division[note 2] for use in the UK, and 250 were sold to English Welsh & Scottish, with orders from Direct Rail Services, Fastline, Freightliner and GB Railfreight.

The high haulage capacity and reliability of the Class 59 (JT26-CW-SS) had led to its use by the German company Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK).

A range of European safety systems would be supported including ERTMS, and locomotives would be fitted with a dynamic brake and previous issues with driver comfort were to be addressed.

[10] A similar locomotive concept using EMD technology is the Vossloh Euro 4000 and has been delivered to operators in several countries including Norway, France, Spain, Portugal and Israel.

Despite being popular with rail operators, especially due to its high reliability, the class has not been universally successful: one recurring problem has been driver comfort.

As a fuel-saving and wear-reduction measure operator DB Schenker Rail UK is to fit ninety of its fleet with automatic engine stop start technology by the end of 2015.

The modification is provided by ZTR Control Systems of London, Ontario and is expected to reduce engine running hours by about one-third.