Newag E4 ‘Griffin’ family / EU160
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Prototype E4MSU still displaying the ZNLE logo, exhibited at the InnoTrans
Fair in Berlin; September 20, 2012. Photo by Chris West (thanks for
permission!).
The same locomotive at the TRAKO
2013 Fair in Gdańsk; September 24, 2013.
E4DCUd-004, PKP InterCity,
photographed at the Warszawa Wschodnia station on
November 13, 2018.
EU160-005, PKP InterCity,
hauls the IC 12101 express train to Lublin. Warszawa Miedzeszyn
(a few hundred meters from where I live), May 10, 2021.
EU160-012 (E4DCU-012), PKP
InterCity, Warszawa Anin station, August 18, 2021.
The same locomotive, photographed at the Warszawa Wschodnia
station on October 27, 2022.
EU160-016 approaches the Puławy Azoty station; May 3, 2022.
EU160-010, PKP InterCity, Warszawa Wschodnia station, September 23, 2022.
The same location: EU160-018, April 18, 2023.
EU160-011, PKP InterCity,
photographed near Warszawa Ochota station on July
24, 2020. Photo by Robert Wójcik (postcard from my collection).
Warszawa Wschodnia again: EU160-001, August 10, 2023.
EU160-006, PKP InterCity,
leaving Warszawa Wschodnia station on August 24,
2023.
The same location: EU160-007, PKP
InterCity, October 5, 2023.
Warszawa Wschodnia again, March 14, 2024: EU160-009…
… and EU160-017, PKP InterCity. |
In
2009 Electric Locomotives Repair Works (Zakłady
Naprawcze Lokomotyw Elektrycznych – ZNLE) of Gliwice completed the
prototype of the first brand-new Polish electric locomotive of indigenous
design in almost twenty years. Designated E6ACT and known under commercial
name ‘Dragon’, it was ordered by several operators, 32 examples being
completed until late 2019. Further orders have been placed. Six-axle
‘Dragon’, with its maximum speed of 120 km/h, is intended mainly for heavy
freight traffic and offers a modern replacement for obsolescent classes ET41
and ET42. In 2010 ZNLE Gliwice began
first studies concerning a four-axle locomotive of similar rating, to be
built in both universal (drafts up to 3 200 tonnes,
160 km/h) and passenger (200 km/h) variants. It was intended to build DC (3
kV), AC (15 kV 16 2/3 Hz and 25 kV 50 Hz) and multi-system versions, so that
entire family would include six types: single-system DC E4DCU/DCP
(universal/passenger), dual-system AC
E4ACU/ACP and multi-system E4MSU/MSP. Commercial name ‘Elephant’ was changed
to ‘Griffin’ in 2011. Later a diesel-powered variant, designated D4MSU, was
also proposed, but still (May 2021) has not progressed beyond the project
stage. First
E4MSU was outshopped in October 2011 and shown for
the first time at the InnoTrans
Fair in Berlin in September 2012. It was the first multi-system electric
locomotive built in Poland. In 2013 it underwent extensive tests at
experimental railway establishments in Żmigród and Velim (Czech Republic). It was also briefly tested by PKP Cargo. It was planned to complete
the first E4MSP in 2013, but this did not see fruition. Prototype E4MSU-001
was also tested by several private operators (Ecco Rail, Pol-Miedź Trans, CTL
Logistics and Kolprem).
Second presentation took place at the TRAKO
2013 Fair in Gdańsk in September 2013: the
locomotive was sporting Newag livery, as in the meantime ZNLE Gliwice became Newag subsidiary. It still remains the manufacturer’s
property and since mid-2013 has served for brief periods with various
operators. In December 2015 Lotos Kolej announced that they would lease five E4DCUd
locomotives, to be delivered until June 2017. Lower-case ‘d’ in the
designation indicates that this type is fitted with auxiliary 515 hp diesel engine. It was initially planned to build these
locomotives at the Gliwice plant, but later production was transferred to Nowy Sącz (Newag headquarters), which
caused some delay. The order was completed in late 2017; E4DCUd-002 was shown
at the Trako 2017 in Gdańsk.
However, Lotos Kolej
cancelled their order and Newag purchased all five locomotives back from the leasing
company. Three were later leased to Orlen KolTrans and two (E4DCUd-004 and E4DCUd-005) in March
2018 to PKP InterCity and then in
February 2019 finally to Lotos kolej. They have retained their original service
numbers and remain the property of Newag. In September 2021 Lotos Kolej purchased one example, numbered
E4DCU-031; further purchases may follow. The largest orders came from PKP InterCity. In February 2018 this
operator announced that they would purchase twenty E4DCUs, with an option for
further ten. They are designated EU160; this untypical designation indicates
its maximum speed. The whole order, including the option, was completed in
November 2020. Further orders are likely to follow. In
May 2014 an agreement was signed between Newag and Ɖuro Ɖaković Specijalna
Vozila of Slavonski Brod, Croatia, concerning co-operation in design,
production and marketing of electric locomotives. On its basis ‘Griffin’, in
the multi-system version, is to be built in Croatia. However, until today
(August 2021) production has not started. Main
technical data
1)
Until May 2022. References and
acknowledgments
-
Newag
folders; -
SK, various issues; |
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