OREANDA-NEWS. November 21, 2011. Total run of new passenger electric locomotives EP2К, produced at the Kolomenskiy zavod  has exceeded 30 million kilometers.

At the present time, 122 electric locomotives EP2К are operated on the Western-Siberian and October railways. On the Western-Siberian railway they drive trains to Chelyabinsk, Mariinsk, Novosibirsk, Novokuznetsk, Belovo, Petropavlovsk, Ekaterinburg, Perm; on the October railway – at sites: St.-Petersburg - Svir, St.-Petersburg - Babaevo.

The first prototype of EP2К was presented in 2006. Locomotives are in constant operation since May, 2008. According to the development program JSC RZD, design of passenger DC electric locomotive became one of priorities in the reform of transport branch as the similar equipment had never been produced, passenger DC electric locomotives were purchased in Czechoslovakia. The average age of operated locomotives was round 30 years at the moment of the start of works on design of a new electric locomotive.

On railways, EP2K replace Czechoslovak electric locomotives of series CHS2 which were pur-chased from the middle 1960 till the middle of 1970th years. In comparison with leaving loco-motives CHS2, EP2Ks have a number of basic technical advantages in power and traction char-acteristics – capacity is increased by 14 %, traction power – by 20 %. New electric locomotives provide more comfortable conditions for locomotive crews, equipped with cabins with central air conditioning and heating, meeting the modern sanitary norms.

"During the period of EP2К electric locomotives production a great volume of works was done on perfection of design and increase of reliability of the locomotive. The autopilot system, providing the possibility to drive the locomotive without an assistant is introduced" notes the Chief Locomotive Designer of the Kolomenskiy zavod Anatoly Podoprosvetov.

EP2K electric locomotives were certified fort serial production on December 2010.

The Kolomenskiy plant will produce 40 electric locomotives EP2K under the order of JSC RZD in 2011.