The Chinese government's six-stage plan to speed up rail travel required a heavy-duty passenger diesel locomotive for higher speeds for the fifth stage. On the long-distance routes that were not yet electrified, this was to cover connections of more than 1,000 km (620 miles) without a stopover and not require any other crew members apart from the driver. Furthermore, it was required that the locomotive can take over the power supply of the train itself and that no generator wagons should be necessary.

In May 2003, the Ministry of Railways delegated the contract for the development directly to the locomotive factory in Qishuyan. A double locomotive was developed on the basis of the DF11, the first pair of which was delivered in November of the same year. It was the first Chinese diesel locomotive with complete microcomputer control. The streamlined head shape earned it the nickname “pig's head” in public.

Each half of the locomotive is powered by the same diesel engine as in the DF11, which has a gross output of 3,860 kW or 5,176 hp. This is sufficient to maintain a speed of 160 km/h or 99 mph with a train of 18 to 20 cars up a gradient of 0.3 percent. Here the traction is still being provided by classic DC motors. Each half of the locomotive has a separate MTU or Cummins diesel engine to power the train, with a flanged-on generator delivering up to 400 kW. The first 29 pairs had a 380 volt AC power supply and the last 63 pairs had a 600 volt DC power supply for more modern passenger cars.

During test runs, the more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) long route between Beijing and Hangzhou was covered at an average speed of 138 km/h. In some cases, the locomotives are not used as a double unit at the front end of the train, but with one half at each end. This enables faster turning at the destination station and is jokingly called “Dōngfēng 5.5G”. On some routes that are now electrified, the DF11G has been replaced by locos such as the HXD3D.

After the introduction of the ТЭ10 (TE10) freight locomotive, it was realized that a much more powerful locomotive would be needed for the heavy trains. So a double locomotive was created by taking two ТЭ10 with only one cab each and to use them permanently coupled, what created the 2ТЭ10. They still had six axles per section and a 3,000 hp ten-cylinder opposed-piston two-stroke diesel. Compared to the use of two conventional locomotives, this saved the cost of two cabs.

After 26 ТЭ10, a total of only 19 2ТЭ10 were built starting in 1960. Mass production started with the 2ТЭ10Л (2TE10L) in 1961. This had been modified in some aspects and was built 3,192 times. The next variant was the 2ТЭ10В (2TE10V) with 1,898 pairs built from 1975. Then 3,688 2ТЭ10М (2TE10M) followed starting in 1981.

2ТЭ10М-2207 in November 2016 near Chelyabinsk

XTReme-93

The last major variant was the 2ТЭ10У (2TE10U) that was introduced in 1989. The most important change in this variant was the revised engine of type 10Д100M2 that had some improvements in fuel efficiency. By 1996, 655 had been built, of this 100 were of the variant 2ТЭ10УT (2TE10UT). These were intended for passenger traffic and had a top speed of 120 instead of 100 km/h.

To further increase the power of the locomotives, three- and four-section variants have been built from multiple generations of the 2ТЭ10, creating the 3ТЭ10 and 4ТЭ10. The mid sections only had a rudimentary cab and could not be used to head a train by themselves. From all variants, 719 3ТЭ10 and 25 4ТЭ10 were built.

In total, more than 10,000 of all variants have been built. Most of the original 2ТЭ10 have already been retired in the eighties and were mostly replaced by basically the same locomotives in a new variant. Some of the latest variant even got new four-stroke engines in the 21st century. A number was still in service around 2020 and most likely, they will even stay in service for years to come. Depending on the current state of maintenance, these locomotives are a common sight with massive black smoke.