The girl had made her way to the rail line located about 50 meters (160 feet) from the family home near the town of Achinsk, while her mother thought the child was sleeping.
"The freight train driver noticed the child, sounded the horn, and used the emergency brake, but the heavily loaded cars were unable to stop, and the girl ended up under the locomotive," spokeswoman Irina Belova said.
When the train screeched to a halt, the driver's assistant found the child under the locomotive, with only a minor scratch on her body. The child was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for shock, but was released the next day.
The spokeswoman said the family home had no fence to prevent the girl from reaching the rail line, and that the parents are likely to be fined.
