Today, the first out of the five DRAGON locomotives ordered by LOTOS Kolej was officially commissioned and at 1:00 pm it set off on its first journey on the route from Gdańsk-Olszynka to Zduńska Wola-Karsznica.
DRAGON is a modern, six-axle electric locomotive, the first loco manufactured in Poland in the last 25 years. Its main advantage is that it is capable of pulling heavy trains of the weight of up to 5000t on routes characterised by variable technical parameters. For comparison, four-axle locomotives can pull trains of the weight of approx. 3200 tonnes (the electric version) and up to 2600 tonnes (the diesel version).
“LOTOS Kolej is the most cutting-edge carrier in Poland,” Henryk Gruca, President of LOTOS Kolej, emphasised. “To ensure the company’s dynamic growth on the extremely competitive market, we must invest all the time, mainly in rolling stock. I am glad that while selecting the latest locomotives for its operations, LOTOS Kolej can use the products offered by Polish manufacturers which provide world class products.”
“DRAGON is designed to operate on long-haul, difficult and demanding routes,” said Bartosz Krzemiński, President of the Board of NEWAG Gliwice S.A. “The tests we conducted confirmed that this loco is capable of pulling a 4000t train up a 10 per mille grade from the parking position,” Krzemiński adds.
In 2011, LOTOS Kolej, tested the DRAGON locomotive under the so-called supervised operation which confirmed the loco’s good parameters. During the InnoTrans Fair in Berlin in 2012, LOTOS Kolej and Newag Gliwice (which was then called ZNLE Gliwice) signed a contract for the delivery of five locomotives of this type. The remaining four locomotives will have been delivered by 15 May, 2014.
DRAGON is the first locomotive of its kind designed from scratch at NEWAG Gliwice. It is designed to pull freight trains of the weight of up to 5000t, with the speed of up to 120km/h. With the 3 kV power supply system of direct current, the locomotive is characterised by an excellent tractive effort while maintaining the maximum axle load below 20 t. The loco has received enthusiastic reviews from the drivers who tested it.
DRAGON has been produced using some of the latest, cutting-edge technologies available in the rail industry. Thanks to its modular structure, the loco’s configuration can be changed in a short time to adapt it to diverse operating parameters of different carriers.