In the late 90s, the English, Welsh & Scottish Railway ordered 30 fast diesel-electric locomotives from Alstom which were intended for mail and passenger services. They were built at Alstom's Meinfesa plant in Valencia, Spain. The load-bearing monocoque body was designed by Alstom and resembled their later Prima family and the Vossloh/Stadler diesel locomotives built in the same plant. The diesel engine, alternator and traction motors came from EMD. The engine was the same twelve-cylinder 710 series with 3,200 hp that can also be found in the class 66. The traction motors were frame-mounted and transmitted their power through cardan shafts to allow for a top speed of 125 mph or 201 km/h.

While testing in Spain, one reached a speed of 143 mph or 230 km/h. However, top speed in the UK had to be temporarily reduced when it became clear that the high axle load became a problem at high speeds. After some modifications to the bogies, the top speed could be increased to 125 mph again. The locomotives hauled many mail trains for EWS and later DB Cargo UK, but two were also assigned to the Royal Train and received special liveries. Another task for the class 67 was to haul the Caledonian Sleeper. Two were sold to Colas Rail and two to Transport for Wales Rail. Others were only leased to TfW. Meanwhile, at least six were stored. 67003 was the first one to be scrapped in 2025.