In the 1980s, the EMD SD40-2 proved itself to be a very reliable product, but when the competitor, General Electric, developed more powerful and technologically advanced locomotives, EMD needed to keep up, and thus the SD50 was developed. However, the SD50 proved to be extremely unreliable, suffering from crankshaft and technological bugs and issues. EMD therefore commenced the development of the EMD SD60 which proved to be more reliable and fuel efficient than the SD50.

The SD60 was considered a success; 1,140 were produced, with 463 being the SD60M model.

The SD60M version was modified to include a full width short hood and feature a "North American safety cab" design. Early units used the Canadian "Tri-clops" wide cab (named because of its 3 windows at the front), later units received the EMD Phase I safety cab (with 2 windows).