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#4421· HLE 27

Belgian Railways Class 27

🇧🇪 Belgium ·built by Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi· from 1981· locomotive class

⚡ electric locomotive electric retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. HLE 2701 Antwerpen-Centraal: Rafaël Delaedt ( Arafi )· CC BY-SA 2.5
  2. 2. B 2727, B Midi-Zuid, 2014: Bahnfrend· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. HLE 27 at Hasselt: Matthew Black· CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. 4. Sncb class 27: Julien Bertrand· Public domain
  5. 5. SNCB Class27 R01: Marc Ryckaert ( MJJR )· CC BY 3.0
  6. 6. SNCB Class27 R02: Marc Ryckaert ( MJJR )· CC BY 3.0
  7. 7. Class 27 at Kinkempois (276373938): LHOON from Mechelen, Belgium· CC BY-SA 2.0
  8. 8. Class 27 entering Sint-Truiden (4283345526): LHOON from Mechelen, Belgium· CC BY-SA 2.0
  9. 9. Class 27 mid-train in Landen (2235159632): LHOON from Mechelen, Belgium· CC BY-SA 2.0
  10. 10. Desiro, HLE 27 met M4, goederenwagons (Turnhout): LouisCartier· CC BY-SA 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Belgian Railways Class 27, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Rafaël Delaedt ( Arafi )· CC BY-SA 2.5

what is it?

Class 27 were the first of the Belgian Railways' large 1980s family of 144 electric locomotives. The family was made up of Classes 11 (12), 12 (12), 21 (60) and 27 (60). Classes 11, 12 and 21 were nearly twice as powerful as the preceding classes 22, 23 and 25.

who runs it

SNCB/NMBS

base stats

  • speed 160 km/htop speed
  • power 4.3 MWpower output
  • weight 85 tin working order
  • built 60made 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 45 years ago, in 1981.
  • Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
  • 4.3 MW is about 50 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
  • Weighs about as much as 14 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • 18.7 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Served for 3 years (1981–1984).

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

spec sheet

built
1981–1984
in service from
1981
retired
1984
status
retired
number built
60
kind
Electric
traction
electric
origin
🇧🇪 Belgium
builders
Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi, La Brugeoise et Nivelles
operators
SNCB/NMBS
top speed
160 km/h
power
4.3 MW
gauge
1,435 mm standard gauge
electric system
3000 V DC
wheel arrangement
Bo-Bo
length
18.7 m
weight
85 t
Dutch name
HLE 27

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

Sources: Wikidata Q693013, Wikipedia: Belgian Railways Class 27 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

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