Starting in 1980, the ČSD had a total of 50 class E 479.1 two-section locomotives built for the steep gradients in Slovakia. Technically, they largely corresponded to the ES499.1 developed at the same time. However, the individual halves had slightly less power than the ES499.1 and were only designed for 100 km/h. Since 1988 they have been known as class 131. With the division of Czechoslovakia, they all came to Slovakia, where they are still in use today. 