At the beginning of the 1890s, haulage of express trains on the Gotthard line was still separated. In the lowlands from Lucerne to Erstfeld the trains were hauled by light tank locomotives and in the mountains freight locomotives took over. In order to accelerate these trains, new locomotives were needed which combined sufficient tractive power with a higher maximum speed, thus making locomotive changes and double heading superfluous. The requirements were to move an express train of 140 tonnes on the mountain and 250 tonnes on the flat without assistance.