#5038

NSB El 18

🇳🇴 Norway ·built by Adtranz· from 1996· Norwegian electric locomotive class

⚡ electric locomotive electric ✓ in service

6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. NSB (Norske tog) El 18.2254 in Drammen: Øyvind Berg· CC BY-SA 4.0
2. Norske Tog EL18 SJ Trondheim Stasjon Taara-no: Taara001· CC BY 4.0
3. El18-2243 Finse 2004-07-07: SRS scandiline· CC BY-SA 2.5
4. El 18: Espen Franck-Nielsen· CC BY-SA 3.0
5. NSB El 18 and B7 train near Dombås 2: Davil Gubler· GFDL
6. NSB El 18 at Oslo S with Oslo skyline: David Gubler· GFDL

what is it?

NSB El 18 is a class of 22 electric locomotives built by Adtranz and Swiss Locomotive & Machine Works (SLM) for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The class is a modification of the Swiss Federal Railways Re 460 locomotive and built at Adtranz Strømmen in 1996 and 1997. The class remains the only mainline electric locomotive used by NSB, and is predominantly used on some intercity services and all night trains on the Bergen Line, Dovre Line and Sørland Line, as well as some regional trains.

who runs it

Vy Go-Ahead Norge Norges Statsbaner SJ Norge Vy Tog

base stats

speed 200 km/htop speed
power 5.4 MWpower output
weight 83 tin working order
built 22made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 30 years ago, in 1996.
Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.
5.4 MW is about 64 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 14 African elephants (~6 t each).
18.5 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
Still in service after 30 years.

electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.

spec sheet

built: 1996–1997
in service from: 1996
status: in service
number built: 22
kind: Electric
traction: electric
origin: 🇳🇴 Norway
builders: Adtranz, Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
operators: Vy, Go-Ahead Norge, Norges Statsbaner, SJ Norge, Vy Tog
top speed: 200 km/h
power: 5.4 MW
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
electric system: Catenary
wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'
length: 18.5 m
weight: 83 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q594508, Wikipedia: NSB El 18 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.