In early August 2013 the first of ninety-five Class 20E dual-voltage electric locomotives for Transnet Freight Rail was lowered onto its bogies for the first time.

[2] The contract marked Zhuzhou's largest single foreign order of electric locomotives to date and made provision for the company to export electric locomotive manufacturing technologies to South Africa to enable a local production ratio of more than 60 percent.

[3] Of the remaining eighty-five locomotives, numbers 20-011 to 20-025 were assembled from Chinese-built kits by Transnet Engineering at Koedoespoort and were all in service by the end of September 2014.

[6] The locomotive has a single cab and a gangway along the centre, while the interior layout and placement of equipment is as follows, from behind the cab towards the rear:[7] As on the dual voltage Class 19E, the main electric circuit is automatically selected in either AC or DC mode, based on the voltage of the overhead contact wire feeding the locomotive.

This is done by a pair of track magnets, one on either side of the neutral overhead wire and spaced 45 metres (148 feet) apart.

Using radio frequency distributed power (RFDP) technology, the units are able to work mid-train in lengthy wagon consists.