#4576
VL15
🇷🇺 Russia ·built by Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant· from 1984· Soviet locomotive
_electric_locomotive_of_Russian_Railways.jpg)
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. VL15-005: Алексей К.· CC0
- 2. VL15-004: trainsru· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 3. VL15 (ВЛ15) electric locomotive of Russian Railways: Vladimir Murovets· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. VL15-043: 2lowterrain· CC BY 3.0
what is it?
The VL15 (Russian: ВЛ15) is a Soviet built electric mainline freight locomotive manufactured at the Tbilisi Electric Locomotive Works. The power supply was 3 kV Direct Current, and the axle arrangement Bo-Bo-Bo+Bo-Bo-Bo. All VL15 and VL15S locomotives currently in operation are assigned to the Volkhov Locomotive Depot, October Railway.
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 42 years ago, in 1984.
- 9 MW is about 106 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 50 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 45 m long: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1984–1991
- number built
- 50
- kind
- electric locomotive
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- builders
- Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant
- operators
- Russian Railways, Apatit, Soviet Railways
- top speed
- 100 km/h
- power
- 9 MW
- gauge
- 1,524 mm Russian broad gauge
- electric system
- 3 kV DC Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo'Bo'
- length
- 45 m
- weight
- 300 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q838592, Wikipedia: VL15 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.