Indian locomotive class WDG-5

The Indian locomotive class WDG-5, also known by its builder's designation EMD GT50AC, is a heavy haul diesel-electric freight locomotive built by Banaras Locomotive Works at Varanasi in collaboration with Electro-Motive Diesel. It is derived from the EMD SD80MAC and was meant as an upgrade to the WDG-4, with a 20-cylinder EMD 710 engine rated at 5,500 horsepower and AC-AC transmission. The series is named Bheem after the strong Pandava brother of the Mahabharata. Only seven units were built, because the design gave tractive effort of just 560 kilonewtons, 20 more than the WDG-4, and the large engine burned a great deal of fuel. Indian Railways then turned toward electrification and General Electric based diesels. As of September 2026 two units had returned to service after refurbishment with the WDG-4's smaller 16-cylinder engine in place of the original.