, July 2022 s at
Geelong, 1993 s on the
North East line, October 2007 , September 2008 , August 2006 By the start of the 1980s,
Victorian Railways passenger numbers had fallen to around 3 million per year, due to ageing rolling stock, stagnant timetables and competition from other forms of transport. The
Lonie Report of 1980 recommended sweeping cuts to the network, but there was a strong push from the many quarters for the
state government to maintain a viable rail network. The government response in February 1981 was the
New Deal for Country Passengers, a $115 million commitment to recast country rail passenger services in Victoria. As part of the
New Deal, all
B class locomotives were to be re-built as the
A class for use on passenger services, and ten new locomotives were ordered. Tenders closed in 1983, with
Clyde Engineering being awarded the contract. By mid-1985, the rising cost of the A class conversions led to the project being abandoned after 11 locomotives had been upgraded, and the N class order was increased to 25, using parts intended for the A class conversions. The N class locomotives entered service on the gauge and operated on main lines all over the state, with the exception of the
Gippsland line beyond
Traralgon, a restriction that was later lifted. The class also saw regular use on
The Overland Melbourne to
Adelaide overnight service until the train was withdrawn in March 1995 so that the track could be
converted to . and, between 1993 and 2004, to
Shepparton line operator
Hoys Roadlines. In preparation for the privatisation of V/Line, the operations of V/Line Freight and V/Line Passenger were split in 1995, with the N class allocated to the passenger operator and included in the sale of V/Line Passenger to
National Express in 1999. Before then, N class locomotives had been employed on freight services, restricted to a maximum speed of . as well as being hired to
Freight Australia in January 2004 to haul log and grain services. After 2007, class members were also been hired to heritage operator
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre for use on its trains, because the provision of
TPWS equipment on the locos allowed them to run at full line speed over the Regional Fast Rail network. With the gradual introduction of
VLocity diesel multiple unit trains, N class locomotives began to play a lesser role, their main use being to haul peak-time commuter services to
Bacchus Marsh and
Geelong, along with long-distance services beyond the Regional Fast Rail network, to
Swan Hill, and previously also to
Bairnsdale,
Warrnambool, and on the
standard gauge to
Albury. The latter were entirely replaced by VLocity sets from 1 August 2022, the final run on the previous day having been worked by N464. In March 2024, for the first time since 2004, four N class locomotives were hired to
Southern Shorthaul Railroad to haul freight trains. In preparation for leasing to SSR, the PTV and V/Line logos were stripped out. The first freight train with an N Class locomotive was hauled on 16 March 2024 on a grain train. This was followed up in March 2025 by 6 more N class locomotives. It could be expected that the N Class locomotives could replace the aging B Class locomotives in the SSR fleet. N class locomotives are authorised to operate at , although some units have been upgraded with D77/78
traction motors and have a maximum speed of . By June 2020, all locomotives had been fitted with the upgraded traction motors. ==Features==