LOTOS Kolej has put into operation the first of five DRAGON locomotives it has ordered. Manufactured by NEWAG Gliwice S.A., the DRAGON is a modern six-axle electric locomotive, the first of its kind to be manufactured in Poland in some 25 years. 

The DRAGON's biggest advantage is its ability to haul heavy trains − up to 5,000 tonnes − along a diverse variety of rail track. By comparison, four-axle locomotives are designed to haul trains weighing approximately 3,200 tonnes (electric) and 2,600 tonnes (diesel).

"LOTOS Kolej is the most technologically advanced rail carrier in Poland," stressed Henryk Gruca, President of LOTOS Kolej. "To ensure our consistent, fast growth on a highly competitive market, we must continually invest, mainly in our rolling stock. It pleases me greatly that LOTOS Kolej, when selecting its new locomotives, can choose from products of the highest world-class quality, made by Polish manufacturers."

"The DRAGON is designed to service long-haul, difficult and challenging routes," said Bartosz Krzemiński, President of NEWAG Gliwice S.A." Our tests show that they can climb 10-degree hills from a standing start, while hauling a train weighing 4,000 tonnes", he added.

In 2011, LOTOS Kolej tested the DRAGON locomotive in a series of supervised test runs, confirming for themselves the locomotive's strength and technical characteristics. In 2012, at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin, LOTOS Kolej signed a contract with the company, then known as ZNLE Gliwice, for delivery of five DRAGONs.

The DRAGON is the first locomotive of its kind to be designed and built entirely at NEWAG Gliwice, is capable of hauling freight trains weighing up to 5,000 tonnes at speeds of up to 120 km/h, and runs on 3 kV DC traction systems. Design work on the E6ACT DRAGON began in 2006, with the first test runs following in 2010. State-of-the-art rail engineering technologies were used in the production of the locomotive, and thanks to its modular design, the DRAGON can be relatively quickly reconfigured and adapted to different customer requirements.  

DRAGON key technical parameters:

- Six-axle locomotive (Co’Co’ wheel arrangement)
- Length: 20.33 m
- Power: 5000 kW
- Weight: 118 t
- Max. operating speed: 120 km/h
- Max. tractive force: 375 kN
- Axle load: below 20 t

LOTOS Kolej is a subsidiary of Grupa LOTOS S.A. and the second largest rail operator in Poland, with an approx. 8% market share (by tonne-kilometres). LOTOS Kolej focuses not only on meeting the transport needs of the LOTOS Group, but also on providing transport services to third-party customers on the Polish and international markets (in cooperation with foreign carriers). LOTOS Kolej operates some 100 locomotives of different types, including BOMBARDIER's TRAXX locomotives. LOTOS Kolej is ranked by its customers as one of the best railway carriers in terms of service quality.

NEWAG S.A. is one of the two largest Polish manufacturers of rolling stock. The Group is an indisputable leader on the locomotive market, with a leading position in the electric multiple units segment (regional, commuter electric trains). NEWAG Gliwice S.A. (a subsidiary of NEWAG S.A.) specialises in the manufacture of new, and the modernisation of existing, electric locomotives. In 2013 it held an approx. 54% share in the domestic market.   In 2011, the first six-axle electric locomotive to be produced in Poland in nearly 30 years, the DRAGON, was designed and built entirely at Newag's Gliwice plant. The first Polish four-axle multi-system locomotive, the GRIFFIN, which is compatible with rail track all over Europe, is also a Newag design.

For more information, please contact:

Communications Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland,  tel. (+48) 58 308 87 31, (+48) 58 308 83 88, (+48) 58 308 83 55, e-mail: media@grupalotos.pl  Urszula Makosz, NEWAG S.A., ul. Wyspiańskiego 3, 33-300 Nowy Sącz, Poland tel. (+48) 660 617 356, e-mail: urszula.makosz@newag.pl