[1] The 50 kV AC 50 Hz Class 15E is the product of a joint venture by Mitsui who was responsible for the design, Toshiba who supplied the electrical components, the RSD division of DCD-Dorbyl who supplied the monoblock cast frame, bolster bogies and drawgear, and Union Carriage & Wagon (UCW) in Nigel who constructed the bodies.

[2][3][4] These heavy duty electric locomotives use Toshiba-made 3-phase AC motors, powered through insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) control.

The initial order was for forty-four locomotives, of which the last were delivered by UCW and accepted by TFR in the first week of August 2011.

Most of the route is across the hot and dry Northern Cape, but the last 160 kilometres (99 miles) to Saldanha runs parallel to the Atlantic coastline and is subjected to the fog and salt sea air of the West Coast.

[8] During 2015, the Class 15E fleet began to be equipped with new multiple unit (MU) hardware and train control and monitoring system (TCMS) software.