The age of the dragon Newag

ThE AGE oF ThE DRAGoN

Newag is a market leader in the design and manufacture of railway locomotives and their ancillary equipment. The company has seen strong growth in recent years thanks to its development of new technologies utilised in its advanced electric multiple units. Furthermore, the recent launch of a ground-breaking heavy-duty freight locomotive, the Dragon, has elevated the company’s reputation to a point where it compares favourably with the best in the world, as Philip Yorke reports.

Newag was founded in Poland in 1876 to serve the newly built Polish railway system, focusing on the repair and maintenance of locomotives and mixed rolling stock. However, when the Warsaw underground system was opened, the company was contracted to design and build the futuristic ‘Inspiro’ fleet of electric trains.

The success of these units resulted in Newag being retained to produce another first: the advanced ‘Impuls II Electric Multiple’, which in trials became the first train in Poland to exceed 211km/h. Since that time Newag has designed and manufactured the Impulse 45WE electric locomotive, which achieved a speed of 226km/h and was the first Polish-built train to meet the stringent EU engineering directives introduced in 2014.

Following state ownership, the company was privatised in 2004; however, perhaps the most significant milestone was achieved in 2008 when it designed and manufactured its first locomotive entirely in-house. This was the electric multiple unit 19W. Today the company designs and builds many types of electric and diesel locomotives from its two state-of-the-art plants based in Poland. The company’s main facility is located in Nowy Sacz, where over 90 per cent of its production takes place, while the other plant is located at Gliwice in southern Poland where the focus is on the repair and maintenance of heavy electric and diesel locomotives.

Transforming rail efficiency

On 12 July 2018, following many years of intense development and rigorous testing regimens at the Zmigrod test track, Newag unveiled its global contender for the heavy-duty rail traction market. The Dragon is a true goliath of heavyweight locomotives and an example of outstanding engineering excellence. The test track at Zmigrod, Poland hosted the launch event which was attended by members

of the Polish government including Andrzej Adamczyk, Minister for Infrastructure and Andrej Bittel, the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure.

Adamczyk said, “Today Polish industry has arrived in the 21st century with a remarkable new product, the Dragon 2 heavy duty, long haul electric locomotive. This represents an extensive investment programme in Polish Rail Transport. We are transforming the Polish Railway industry with this new era of futuristic, high-tech and precision-engineered trains.”

Today the new Dragon 2 locomotives utilise the latest cuttingedge technology and most reliable operating systems in order to ensure unrivalled reliability and high working comfort for the driver-operator.

The main practical advantage of the Dragon 2 series is its very high tractive force, which in combination with the loco’s anti-skid system makes it a daunting partner when it comes to handling heavy freight and steep gradients. Each of the Dragon’s six driving axles enable it to pull extremely heavy loads, thus making it ideal for Polish heavy manufacturing industries and in particular for the mining and quarry sectors.

The Dragon is able to achieve unparalleled levels of efficiency and weight reductions of 400kg, thanks in part to the PSM-175 SiC auxiliary power converter from MEDCOM, one of the world’s most innovative manufacturers of power electronics devices.

MEDCOM’s PSM-175 SiC is an auxiliary power converter manufactured using high-frequency technology. Silicon carbide transistors

were installed both in the DC/DC converter block (lowering voltage from 3 kV to 0.6 kV) and the traction inverter block. In addition, in order to achieve higher converter efficiency, fast 32-bit DSP microcontrollers and high-frequency magnetic solutions were used. The converter’s control system also features state-of-the-art, proven signal processing algorithms. The converter was fitted with an extended diagnostics and operating parameter recording system, and the communication module was equipped with Ethernet, CAN, USB, MMC, and RS232 interfaces. The PSM-175 SiC converter is also characterised by high voltage stability (+/-5 per cent), which means that start-up of high-power vehicle components does not result in a reduction or distortion of the voltage. Furthermore, the converter’s innovative design makes it possible to use various types of input power supply - such as combustion engine and generator. This means that the converter can be used in hybrid vehicles, such as on non-electrified route sections. MEDCOM’s converter is able to generate full power for all the electric devices in the locomotive, even at lower catenary voltage.

“SiC technology has become one of the most promising paths of development in the power electronics market. Products containing components made of silicon carbide achieve better results in terms of efficiency and make it possible to considerably decrease the weight and the size of the device – just like in the case of the Dragon 2 locomotive, where the efficiency has increased to 96 per cent and the weight was reduced by 400kg. The lower the device’s weight and the smaller the dimensions of the components, the more opportunities we have to meet the ever more stringent requirements set by our Clients,” says Piotr Wroński, Vice-President of MEDCOM.

Dynamic testing

Another confirmation of the high esteem in which Newag is held globally was the major order it received for its latest ‘Impuls ll’ EMUs (Electric Multiple Units). The latest EMU from Newag recently successfully completed its stringent dynamic testing programme at the Italian Railway track, RFI (Rete Ferroviar Italiana) located in the Tuscany region of Italy. The first train was designated as the ETR322-001, which passed its dynamic testing programme with flying colours. This now makes it possible for Newag to file an application to the Italian Railway Industry Safety Agency, to grant authorisation for placing the new Impuls II EMUs in daily service on the Italian railway network.

The new Impuls II EMUs draw on many years of experience gained from an ever-evolving production and design programme, which is added to years of reliable service earned on the Italian rail network. Its designers have paid particular attention to safety and high levels

Radionika

The so-called “cabin radio” – an on-board device for radio communication between the driver and traffic controller – is a required fitting for every locomotive or train. Radionika ltd, with headquarters in Kraków, is the Polish leader in the field of production of train radio communication terminals.

The Koliber GSm-R/VHF train radio terminal, the best known cabin radio amongst train drivers in Poland, is a very universal solution. It is capable of operating in several radio standards – analogue (VHF or uHF uIC) or digital (GSm-R or GSm). This rich functionality of Koliber GSm-R/VHF radio is essential and required by railway operators who work in railway networks which utilise different radio systems. At a time of migration of analogue to digital GSm-R systems, this solution is the most awaited for, even expected, by the users. The company has in its offer a number of variants of the product construction (modular – flexible, keenly utilised in modernised vehicles; or the variant in the rack 19” chassis, installed in new vehicles), which allows to adjust the most optimum configuration of the radio-telephone to the needs and requirements of the operator.

Since 2008, Radionika has been supplying its solutions to the company Newag. It has since then installed more than 3000 of Koliber units in the vehicles of practically every single railway operator in Poland. The radio appliances of Radionika have been installed in, amongst others, internal combustion vehicles of the 6DG and 15D type for PKP Cargo, electric vehicles in ImPulS series for regional railways, electric locomotives of the DRAGoN type used by cargo operators. Since 2016 year, the majority of vehicles manufactured by Newag are already equipped with the dual system Koliber GSm-R/VHF radio-telephones, ready for use with the GSm-R system, currently being implemented in Poland.

The excellent cooperation between Newag and Radionika companies in the field of preparing projects and manufacturing allows for a smooth running of production processes. They as well as problem-free use of vehicles with the Koliber radio-telephones installed on-board. everyone benefits from this, customers of both of the companies. Radionika, apart from radio-telephones, also manufactures essential accessories, supplied together with the appli- ance like the GSm-R/GSm/GPS train antenna type AT2S or the micro-telephone set type KmT-01 for the cabin radio. In addition, the company has in its offer a wide ranging assortment of mechanical elements which simplify the installation of radio-telephones in vehicles.

of comfort for travellers. The passenger area is equipped with an advanced passenger information system, a GPS monitoring system and ergonomically designed luggage racks. In addition, the new Impuls II provides electric sockets, bicycle racks, a baby-changing station and lifts for the disabled. The new streamlined EMU from Newag cruises at a smooth operational speed of 160km/h (100 mph).

In yet another accolade for Newag, PKP Intercity trains have signed a new contract to purchase 20 of the company’s latest electric locomotives, together worth more than PLN 370 million. This represents just one element of the biggest investment made in the history of PKP Intercity, which is valued at more than PLN 7 billion. n

For further details of Newag’s latest EMU and DMU locomotives and maintenance services, visit: www.newag.pl