First trials with the Brenner-locos, as they were called in these days, started late in 1997. The E 412s are three-tension locomotives for 1,5kV (although with reduced power) and 3 kV DC combined with 15kV AC. Also, with these machines the Italian railways would be able to cross the Alps. The E 412 therefore were tested in Italy, Austria, Switserland and Germany in 1997 and 1998.

However, delivery of the machines was delayed. Especially the heavy weight (89 tonnes) was a difficult hurdle to take in the approval process. Finally, in June 1999, the E 412 012 and 013 were the first two units that were officially delivered to Trenitalia. The 001 was the last one in July 2000.

In Vado Ligure, three more, identical (well okay, the driver dask was mirrored) locomotives were built for the Polish railways (EU43 001-003). These machines finally ended up with RTC, a open access operator in Italy, together with five machines built under license in Wroclaw, Poland.

Other locomotives that are related to the E 412 are the PKP 113E/EU11/Trenitalia E405 series and the OSE 220 series diesel-electrics. They are also part of the Eco2000-family.