2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Business end of broad gauge dc electric locomotive WCM-5: shankar s.· CC BY 4.0
- 2. I have grown up around these WCM-5s- the head a nice cream- royal blue livery: shankar s.· CC BY 4.0
what is it?
The Indian locomotive class WCM-5 is a class of 1.5 kV DC electric locomotives that was developed in 1961 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Direct Current (C), Mixed traffic (M) engine, 5th generation (5). The WCM-5 was the first locomotive of any type to be fully developed and built in India, entering service in 1961.
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 65 years ago, in 1961.
- Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1961–1963
- in service from
- 1961
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 21
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇮🇳 India
- builders
- CLW
- designer
- CLW
- operators
- Indian Railways
- top speed
- 120 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,676 mm Indian broad gauge
- electric system
- 1.5 kV DC Overhead
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- weight
- 124 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q96250871, Wikipedia: Indian locomotive class WCM-5 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.