They were specifically designed for use by Central Railways in the Ghat section towards Nashik and Pune.
During this period, many of the WCM locomotives, which began to show their age, suffered several failures.
As a result, CR had a tough time in maintaining train schedules, which led to the demand for a locomotive similar to the WCAM-2/2P, which was already successful in the Western Railways.
CR uses WCAG-1 locos on Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Igatpuri sections which had ghat portions as well as speed restrictions of about 80 km/h.
These dual-traction models deliver 4600 hp in DC mode and 5000 hp in AC mode, and post 25 kV transformation, WCAG-1s were fully transformed into pure AC locomotives, and the performance was even more improved.
Freight rakes double-headed by WCAG-1 (upgraded models) are a common sight on the ghat sections.