[1][2] They are closely based on the class Re 460 (or Lok 2000) locomotives of Swiss Federal Railways.

Finally only six of the 12 options were transformed into orders, forming a total fleet of 46 engines.

The locomotive has GTO-thyristor inverters driving three-phase asynchronous AC motors.

A redesigned bogie construction was refitted by the manufacturer in the mid-2000s after the locomotives were found to oscillate sideways when running at speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph).

[3] Beginning from 2010 and starting from engine number 3221, all units were repainted with VR's current colour scheme (green and white).