The Class 71 is capable of speeds up to , compared to in the original. This speed was chosen to make it possible to get from Oslo Central Station to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in less than 20 minutes. The signalling system ATC-2 is built for 200 km/h, and could not be adopted for much more than that. The three car units (resp. four car units) can only be separated at a railway workshop, and are never used in anything but their native car configuration.