1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Railion 6450: Joost J. Bakker from IJmuiden· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The second use of the TOPS classification Class 21 for locomotives used on the British railway network came through the use of a number of related diesel-hydraulic and diesel-electric locomotives procured following the opening of the Channel Tunnel. The total of 16 locomotives were obtained by two separate operators, with some used for freight, and others to propel service trains and as "Thunderbird" locomotives.
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 36 years ago, in 1990.
- 1.6 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 14.7 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1990–2005
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Diesel-hydraulic, Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- builders
- MaK
- operators
- Euro Cargo Rail, Getlink
- top speed
- 100 km/h
- power
- 1.6 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'
- length
- 14.7 m
- weight
- 87 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q30598950, Wikipedia: British Rail Class 21 (MaK) (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.