The steepest section of the Japanese network was on the Shinetsu main line at the Usui Pass and had a gradient of 6.67 percent. At the time when the new generation of DC locomotives was introduced, it was still being operated with rack electric locomotives from the 1930s, which were now to be replaced. The result was a six-axle locomotive that could be used for passenger and freight trains alike and that was to cover the entire Shinetsu route without cogwheel operation. On the steepest section, they were to be supported by two EF63 each. The production of the total of 54 machines was again divided among several manufacturers.

For weight reasons, the combination of three two-axle bogies was not used here, but two bogies, each with three axles. The replacement of the steam boiler for the train heating with an electric heater, which was not yet standard at the time, also served to save weight. Parts of the vehicle body were made of glass fiber reinforced plastic instead of metal.

Uphill travel times between the two stations before and after the Usui Pass have been reduced from 42 to 17 minutes. After more and more multiple units were introduced, the field of application of the EF62 soon focused on freight trains. Since this section still led to delays, freight traffic was routed via a different route from 1984, which ended the use of the locomotives at this point. They were still relocated, but soon afterwards most of the engines were retired. After the privatization of the Japanese railways, the last remaining EF62s were used by JR East in front of night trains and were also retired by 1998.