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DRAGON – highly reliable
Twelve months since DRAGON locomotives started operating, both companies, NEWAG S.A. – the manufacturer and LOTOS Kolej, the buyer, boast excellent results.
During the last year, the locomotives covered the distance exceeding 850 thousand km and their average reliability ratio reached 99.3%. This is equivalent to the highest world rate. Such results achieved in the first year of operation mean that the manufacturer has managed to avoid the so– called “teething problems.”
“Since the contract for the serial locomotive delivery was signed, we have focused on uncompromised quality and highest standards available on the market. Organizational changes in the fields of design, manufacturing and cooperation with suppliers, consistently implemented, have enabled us to reach this goal,” said Bartosz Krzemiński, Vice President of the Board of NEWAG S.A.. “Today’s satisfaction of LOTOS and STK with the DRAGON locomotive is the best prize for us for all the efforts and motivates us to work further.”
LOTOS Kolej has been exploiting the new Dragon locomotives very effectively, reaching an average monthly distance covered at 11400km. The operator has created special conditions for optimized exploitation of Dragon locomotives. They service a fixed route from Trójmiasto to the terminal in Zduńska Wola Karsznice and the route to Julianów on which the locomotives reach a speed of 100km/h when loaded and 120km/h unloaded, the result achieved by few Polish freight carriers. Consequently, they cover the route in 12 hours both ways whereas it used to take 32 hours a few years ago.
“We need to invest in rolling stock all the time in order to ensure dynamic growth for the whole Company on a very competitive market,” emphasized Henryk Gruca, President of LOTS Kolej. “The E6ACT DRAGON locomotive has performed well at LOTOS Kolej fleet. This electric locomotive has been designed to operate on Polish railway tracks. Thanks to DRAGON we can haul heavy freight trains on long routes.”
DRAGONs are the first electric locomotives designed and manufactured in Poland in the last 26 years. They are six-axle locomotives of 5MW power, adapted to pulling heavy freight trains exceeding 4 thousand tonnes.Dragon locomotives are powerful, safe, and attractively-priced, and they are characterised by economy, high standard interior furnishings and, most importantly, high reliability. Depending on clients’ needs, their modular construction enables to install an additional Diesel engine (“Dual Power” option) as well as to increase available tractive effort up to 450kN (“Max Load” option).
DRAGONS winning clients’ trust
Last month, Freightliner PL ordered five locomotives from NEWAG, equipped with the Dual Power — an additional diesel engine of 520kW in power enabling to service customers also on non-electrified end lines, and at sidings without a need for shunting locomotives (the so-called ‘last mile’). >
