Soviet Railways Series ЧС7 (ChS7)

Due to growing passenger numbers in the Soviet Union around 1980, the SŽD needed a new passenger locomotive that could haul trains of up to 32 coaches. So Škoda developed the ЧС7 (ChS7) for use under 3 kV DC as a two-section locomotive. Each section had four axles and 3,080 kW, for a total of 6,160 kW. Rheostatic braking was possible with up to 6,500 kW. With a top speed of 160 km/h, the starting tractive effort was a modest 320 kN. 321 locomotives were built between 1983 and 1999, but the yearly number of orders had sharply dropped with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the result, the total number of locomotives built between 1991 and 1999 was only 36. Meanwhile, they are being operated by the Russian and Ukrainian state railways. At least in Russia, most are still in service.