#4526

VL85

🇷🇺 Russia ·built by Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant· from 1983· class of 270 Soviet electric locomotives

10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. VL85-225: Vivan755· CC BY-SA 3.0
2. VL85-116: O.I.M· CC0
3. VL85-208, Irkutsk railway station, Transsib line (32568250702): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
4. RZD Transsib line at Baikal shore, VL85-108 (32215569395): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
5. RZD Transsib line at Baikal shore, VL85-108 (32215569805): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
6. RZD VL85-006 at Baikal shore, Circum-Baikal Railway (32508377565): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
7. RZD VL85-006 at Baikal shore, Circum-Baikal Railway (32508377775): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
8. RZD VL85-047, Circum-Baikal Railway by trolleway, 2009 (32508379345): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
9. RZD VL85-125, Sludyanka-2, Circum-Baikal Railway by trolleway, 2009 (31664982264): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0
10. RZD VL85-179 at Baikal shore, Circum-Baikal Railway 2009 (31374184774): Artem Svetlov from Moscow, Russia· CC BY 2.0

what is it?

The VL85 (Russian: ВЛ85) is a Soviet (and later Russian) built electric mainline freight locomotive manufactured at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant (NEVZ) and designed under the management of V.Ya.Sverdlov (ru:В.Я.Свердлов).

who runs it

Russian Railways Soviet Railways

base stats

speed 110 km/htop speed
power 10 MWpower output
weight 288 tin working order
built 270made 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 43 years ago, in 1983.
10 MW is about 118 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 48 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: 1983–1994
number built: 270
kind: electric locomotive
traction: electric
origin: 🇷🇺 Russia
builders: Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant
operators: Russian Railways, Soviet Railways
top speed: 110 km/h
power: 10 MW
gauge: 1,524 mm Russian broad gauge
electric system: Catenary
wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo'Bo'
length: 45 m
weight: 288 t
nicknames: бык (Ox)

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

Sources: Wikidata Q1105753, Wikipedia: VL85 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.