The 4E1 is a type of four-axle electric locomotives developed for the Georgian State Railways with the requirement to be more powerful than the ubiquitous ВЛ22М. The basic design was borrowed from the ВЛ15 also built at Tbilisi, but it only had a single section with two cabs. With an hourly output of 3,000 kW and a top speed of 120 km/h, it was suited for passenger and light freight service. Only two prototypes were built and at the same time, 15 ВЛ10 locomotives were rebuilt to the somewhat less powerful 4E10 instead. Also the two 4E1 prototypes entered regular service. 