3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SJ Ra near Gävle: David Gubler· GFDL
- 2. Rapid 988: Nord68· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. Rapid-skylt: Nord68· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The SJ Class Ra (or Rapid) is an electric locomotive operated by Swedish State Railways (Swedish: Statens Järnvägar, SJ). Ten units were built by ASEA, two in 1955 and eight in 1961. Ra was used on express trains until the 1990s.
who runs it
base stats
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 71 years ago, in 1955.
- Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- 2.6 MW is about 31 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 11 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 15.1 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1955–1961
- retired
- 1996
- status
- retired
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- builders
- ASEA
- operators
- Statens Järnvägar
- top speed
- 150 km/h
- power
- 2.6 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo′Bo′
- length
- 15.1 m
- weight
- 65 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q595856, Wikipedia: SJ Ra (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.