The locomotive was evaluated on the Oslo – Bergen line, which includes gradients of up to 3%, and was also tested by railfreight operators CargoLink and TX Logistik on the Oslo – Trondheim route.
The locomotive hauled a 1000-tonne train under diesel traction up a gradient of 2% through a double S-curve and also hauled an 1100-tonne train in diesel mode up a 1.7% gradient in Oslo Alnbru marshalling yard, where shunting movements are usually restricted to a maximum of 1000 tonnes.
The locomotive was used daily during the trials in both shunting and mainline operation, hauling trains up to 500m in length in a variety of weather conditions, including snow. Bombardier says that despite occasionally difficult track conditions, the locomotive was able to start each train from a standstill in Last Mile mode without any problems.
