The Newag Dragon is a Polish six-axle
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
, designed for working freight trains up to 4500 tons. The locomotive is built by
Newag
Newag S.A. ronounced: nevagis a Polish company, based in Nowy Sącz, specialising in the production, maintenance, and modernisation of railway rolling stock. The company's products include the 14WE, 19WE, 35WE types electric multiple units; it ...
, between 2009–2016 at its
Gliwice
Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...
plant, since 2017 at the
Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...
plant. By April 2020, 42 units had been built and delivered to 12 different train operating companies in Poland.
History
Origin
Newag Dragon's project is the first Polish electric locomotive project for 19 years, since the hitherto last Polish-designed locomotive,
EM10, was unveiled. The idea to design and offer a six-axle goods locomotive came around as the company was engaged in refurbishing old
ET22
ET22 (also manufactured as Pafawag 201E) is a Polish six-axle electric freight locomotive built by Pafawag from 1969 to 1989. Factory designation is 201E. With 1183 units, it is one of the most numerous standard gauge electric locomotive built in ...
six-axle goods locomotives and decided that it would make more sense to offer a new locomotive rather than a wide-ranging refurbishment.
Prototype production
From 2002 no electric locomotives were produced in Poland until September 2006, when an agreement was signed with the
Ministry of Science and Higher Education
{{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...
for funding a project to build a new locomotive. It was decided to produce a heavy goods locomotive. The company also decided to produce a six-axle locomotive
so that it could operate on a wider variety of tracks. The project for the locomotive was prepared in cooperation with EC Engineering and the Institute of Electrical Engineering. The traction engines were designed by the Research and Development Centre of Electrical Machines ''Komel'' and built by the Department of Electrical Machines ''Emit''.
Presentations and tests
From 13 January to 30 December 2011 the supervised operation prototype unit, was led by STK,
PKP Cargo
PKP Cargo () is a logistics operator and a part of the PKP Group in Poland. It is the largest railway freight carrier in Poland and second largest in the European Union. PKP Cargo is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company's largest shar ...
, Pol-Miedz Trans and
Lotos Kolej
Lotos Kolej sp. z o.o. is a Polish rail company operating as a part of Grupa Lotos JSC. Lotos Kolej is responsible for transporting Lotos Group products and delivering petrol for Rafineria Gdańska.
The company precedesor, ''Zakład Transportu K ...
, under which E6ACT-001 had been in service for a combined 77 866 km with a maximum train weight of 4 021 t. In October, the locomotive was re-launched at the Trako Trade Fair in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
. On 23 December the Railway Transport Office issued a perpetual license for the service of the locomotive. In February 2012 promotional operation was taken by
DB Schenker Rail
DB Cargo (previously known as Railion and DB Schenker Rail) is an international transport and logistics company. It is responsible for all of the rail freight transport activities of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (the DB Group) bo ...
Poland. At the
InnoTrans Trade Fair in September 2014 the locomotive of the E6ACT-008 series belonging to
Lotos Kolej
Lotos Kolej sp. z o.o. is a Polish rail company operating as a part of Grupa Lotos JSC. Lotos Kolej is responsible for transporting Lotos Group products and delivering petrol for Rafineria Gdańska.
The company precedesor, ''Zakład Transportu K ...
was shown.
In July 2018 the Dragon 2 was introduced by Newag, a slightly revised design that carried the designation E6ACTa. Three units were immediately purchased by
PKP Cargo
PKP Cargo () is a logistics operator and a part of the PKP Group in Poland. It is the largest railway freight carrier in Poland and second largest in the European Union. PKP Cargo is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company's largest shar ...
and delivered in October 2018. They bear
PKP-style designations ET25-001 through -003.
Deliveries
d – subtype designates a dual-power option (auxiliary 540 kilowatt diesel engine primarily for shunting)
a – subtype designates a revised design marketed as "Dragon 2"
Construction
Available versions
The locomotives are available in the following versions:
*3 kV DC (type E6ACT, previously E6DCU).
*15 kV 16.7 Hz and/or 25 kV 50 Hz (type E6ACU).
*3 kV DC, and 15 and/or 25 kV AC (type E6MSU).
*Diesel (version with lower power and lower maximum speed at full load).
The manufacturer also provides 2 options:
*Max load – increasing the tractive effort to 450 kN.
*Dual power – an
auxiliary diesel engine.
E6ACT
Power supply
The E6ACT locomotive is designed to operate at a supply
voltage
Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...
of 3 kV DC. The locomotive's power electronics is based on IGBT technology. The first unit is powered by 6 STX500-4A electric motors, developing 834 kW each, powered by traction converters developed by the Institute of Electrical Engineering. The gear axle SET 553 is supplied by
Voith
The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Hei ...
. The locomotives are equipped with
disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s. There are also multisystem models on offer.
Capabilities
The E6ACT/E6ACU locomotive has a continuous power output of 5,004 MW and a starting tractive effort of 375 kN, enabling it to pull 4,000 tonnes of cargo – or 4,500 with Max Load option.
References
{{Reflist
Standard gauge locomotives of Poland
Electric locomotives of Poland