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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. NJ2-0074 and 0075 on Qinghai-Tibet Railway: Henry Chen on flickr· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2. China Railways NJ2 0053: xiangzi· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. NJ2-0014于拉萨站西侧: Shunyan Gu· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. 20140504 NJ2-0022 and NJ2-0033 on Qingzang Railway near Lhasa 02: Windmemories· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. 20140504 NJ2-0022 and NJ2-0033 on Qingzang Railway near Lhasa: Windmemories· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. NJ2-0033 and NJ2-0075 at Yuzhufeng Railway Station (Jul 2026): EY-猫.exe· CC BY 4.0
- 7. NJ2-0066和NJ2-0043牵引货列停靠在青藏铁路甘隆站 01: Liuxingy· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. NJ2-0066和NJ2-0043牵引货列停靠在青藏铁路甘隆站 02: Liuxingy· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9. 格尔木 NJ2-0015 NJ2-0040 NJ2-0047 NJ2-0024牵引客车行驶在青藏铁路甘隆站至南山口站间: Liuxingy· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. 治多 NJ2-0010和NJ2-0072牵引客车上行接近青藏铁路乌丽站 01: Liuxingy· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The NJ2 is a diesel-electric locomotive used by China Railway in the People's Republic of China. Built in Erie, Pennsylvania, it is based on a standard GE Transportation Systems GE Dash 9-44CW and marketed as GE C38AChe. It was specially customised for high altitude operation on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway route.
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 20 years ago, in 2006.
- 3.8 MW is about 45 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 23 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 20.9 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 2006–2007
- number built
- 78
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- GE Transportation
- operators
- China State Railway Group
- top speed
- 120 km/h
- power
- 3.8 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co′Co′
- length
- 20.9 m
- weight
- 138 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q860770, Wikipedia: China Railways NJ2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.