Between 1985 and 1987, the South African Railways placed forty-five Class 11E electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in mainline service on the Coalink line.

[1] The 25 kV AC Class 11E electric locomotive was designed for the South African Railways (SAR) by General Motors (GM) while its thyristor traction technology was provided by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) of Sweden.

Four units can haul two hundred loaded coal wagons in a train weighing more than 21,000 tonnes (21,000 long tons).

Since they are used on a route where loaded trains face steeper descending than ascending grades, the locomotive was designed to produce 4,500 kilowatts (6,000 horsepower) of rheostatic braking power.

In the late 1990s all were repainted in the Spoornet blue livery with either solid or outline numbers on the long hood sides.