Newag S.A. (pronounced ''"nevag"'') is a Polish company, based in
Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
, specialising in the production, maintenance, and modernisation of railway
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
. The company's products include the
14WE, 19WE, 35WE types
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s. The company has also developed the
Nevelo prototype tram and formed a consortium with
Siemens Mobility
Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...
for final assembly of
Siemens Inspiro
The Siemens Inspiro is a family of electric multiple unit trains designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility since 2012 for Rapid transit, metro systems. The product was launched on 19 September 2012 at the InnoTrans in Berlin. The first Inspi ...
metro trains for the
Warsaw Metro
The Warsaw Metro () is a rapid transit underground system serving the Poland, Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south M1 (Warsaw), M1 line which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sou ...
and
Sofia Metro
The Sofia Metro (, also colloquially called ) is the rapid transit network servicing the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. It is the only metro in Bulgaria. It began operation on 28 January 1998. , the Sofia Metro consists of four interconnected lin ...
.
History
In 1876 (when Nowy Sącz
was partitioned by Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
), the
Imperial–Royal Railway Workshops opened, serving the newly built . After the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and the establishment of the
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, the company, renamed "1st Class Main Workshop", was redirected to serve
Polish State Railways
The Polish State Railways ( , abbr.: PKP S.A.) is a Polish state-owned holding company (legally a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury) comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway oper ...
(PKP), employing some 1,800 workers in 1922.
In
post-World War II communist Poland the workshop was nationalised and later became a separate, though still state-owned, enterprise officially called "Nowy Sacz Railway Rolling Stock Repairs Depot in Nowy Sacz, State Independent Enterprise" (), with a workforce of about 3,500 in 1952. ZNTK Nowy Sącz serviced its last steam locomotive (a
TKt48) in 1972.
After the fall of communism and the economic changes of 1989, ZNTK Nowy Sącz was transformed into a State Treasury Joint Stock Company, with the Polish state as the only shareholder. The company went through a period of financial turmoil around 2001 and its shares were acquired by a private domestic investor in 2003. The current name was adopted in 2005. In 2008, Newag acquired ZNTK Gilwice and subsequently integrated the latter's operations into the wider company.
In 2012, the first
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
from the 35WE series belonging to the
Newag Impuls
Newag Impuls is a family of Standard-gauge railway, standard-gauge Electric multiple unit, electric, Diesel multiple unit, diesel and Electro-diesel multiple unit, bi-mode (''hybrid'') multiple units manufactured by Polish railway rolling stock m ...
family of trains was produced. In 2013, the 31WE Impuls train achieved the speed of 211.6 kph on the
Central Rail Line (CMK) setting a new record for a train designed and manufactured entirely in Poland.
In December 2013, the company made its debut on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange
The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) () is a stock exchange in Warsaw, Poland. Founded in 1817, it was located in the Saxon Palace until 1877 when it was moved to the Exchange Building at the Saxon Garden. Currently, it is located at ul. Książęca ...
with 43.47% of the company's shares having been sold.
In May 2024, the company secured a PLN 2.7 billion (EUR 740 million) contract with
PKP Intercity
PKP Intercity is the subsidiary of the PKP Group responsible for long-distance rail passenger transport in Poland. It operates around 350 trains daily, connecting large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. It offers its services under ...
, which aims to diversify its rolling stock, for the delivery of 35 hybrid dual-mode multiple units.
Test track
The company has set up an electrified, 245 metre long test track to test the electric rolling stock it manufactures or modernises. The overhead can be supplied with any of the four systems, commonly used on European railways: 1.5 and 3 kV DC, 15 kV 16.7 Hz and 25 kV 50 Hz.
2023 revelation of software sabotage
At the ''OhMyH@ck'' conference held in Warsaw on 5 December 2023, software engineers from
white hat hacker group
Hacker groups are informal communities that began to flourish in the early 1980s, with the advent of the home computer.
Overview
Prior to that time, the term ''hacker'' was simply a referral to any Hacker (hobbyist), computer hobbyist. The hacker ...
Dragon Sector revealed that they had
reverse engineered
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
the
embedded software
Embedded software is computer software, written to control machines or devices that are not typically thought of as computers, commonly known as embedded systems. It is typically specialized for the particular hardware that it runs on and has tim ...
of
Newag 45WE Impuls EMUs after operator
Koleje Dolnośląskie
Koleje Dolnośląskie ( Polish for ''Lower Silesian Railways''; KD) is a regional rail operator in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland.
The company was founded on 28 December 2007 by a decision of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik and i ...
had experienced a number of mysterious breakdowns when maintenance was performed by their selected contractor Serwis Pojazdów Szynowych (SPS). In Newag's opinion, the issues were a result of
malpractice
In the law of torts, malpractice, also known as professional negligence, is an "instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional".Malpractice definition,
Professionals who may become the subject of malpractice actions inc ...
by SPS and the trains should have instead been serviced by Newag.
Analysis of the software revealed that the train's embedded computers were programmed to lock up and display bogus fault messages and prevent the train from running if a GPS tracker detected that it spent a certain number of days in an
independent repair company’s maintenance center, and also if certain replacement parts had a serial number not approved by the manufacturer.
In an investigation conducted with the help of the and
CERT Polska CERT Polska is Computer Emergency Response Team which operates within the structures of Naukowa i Akademicka Sieć Komputerowa (Scientific and Academic Computer Network or NASK) – a research institute which conducts scientific activity, operates t ...
, it was also discovered that the software locks could be bypassed by pressing a sequence of buttons in the cab of the train, although a later
software update
A patch is data that is intended to be used to modify an existing software resource such as a program or a file, often to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities. A patch may be created to improve functionality, usability, or performance. A pa ...
removed this ability. The Dragon Sector group analysed 29 trains belonging to Koleje Dolnośląskie as well as other affected operators such as
Koleje Mazowieckie
Masovian Railways, in Polish Koleje Mazowieckie, is a regional rail operator in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland.
History
The company was founded in 2004 as a joint venture of the Masovian Voivodeship, with 51% shares, and the then governmen ...
,
SKM Warszawa,
WKD and
Polregio
Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers.
T ...
, 24 of which had software locks which were removed using tools developed by the group. After those findings were made public, former
Minister of Digital Affairs Janusz Cieszyński
Janusz Antoni Cieszyński (born ) is a Polish politician who was Minister of Digital Affairs under Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in his second cabinet since .
Early life and education
Janusz Cieszyński was born on in Wrocław, Polan ...
confirmed the Polish government and Polish intelligence agencies had known about the findings since May.
It was also revealed that the
Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) had, in October 2022, submitted a case against Newag regarding the abovementioned software manipulation incidents to the prosecutor's office in Nowy Sącz, which initially downplayed the incident until said findings publicly came to light, after which, the investigation was taken over by the regional prosecutor's office in Kraków on suspicion of crimes committed under Article 269 §1 and Article 286 §1 of the
Polish Penal Code ''Kodeks Karny'' is Poland's criminal-law code. The name is often abbreviated ''KK''.
Modern Polish legal history has seen the introduction of three penal codes: in 1932; in 1969, during the communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, p ...
.
Newag strongly denied the claims they intentionally disabled their software and instead alleged SPS was propagating a conspiracy theory to avoid contractual penalties for being unable to service the trains. Newag also claimed there is no proof they are the author of the software or that the modifications had been introduced by them. Newag stated it would take legal action against SPS and the Dragon Sector group for slander and defamation.
The Dragon Sector hacker group subsequently gave a presentation at the 37th
Chaos Communication Congress
The Chaos Communication Congress is an annual hacker conference organized by the Chaos Computer Club. The congress features a variety of lectures and workshops on technical and political issues related to security, cryptography, privacy and ...
(37C3) in Hamburg on 27 December 2023, where they explained in detail the process of debugging the train software and their findings.
The
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
's Parliamentary Committee for Combating Transport Exclusion subsequently convened three hearings regarding the abovementioned allegations on 17 January, 27 February and 26 March 2024, whose participants included representatives of the Dragon Sector team, Newag, railway operators and members of the Sejm.
Newag has since filed a lawsuit for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
against Dragon Sector and SPS. The first hearing was held by the District Court in Warsaw on 28 August 2024.
Current products
*
Nevelo – three-section low-floor tramcar, currently in service in Kraków
*
Impuls – electric multiple unit for urban, suburban or regional services
*
Vulcano
Vulcano () or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and contains severa ...
– diesel multiple unit, currently in service in Italy
*
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
– four-axle electric or diesel-electric locomotive for express passenger and light-medium freight services
*
Dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
– six-axle high-power electric or diesel-electric locomotive for heavy freight services
Locomotives and EMU are available with optional last-mile diesel.
Production history
See also
*
Economy of Poland
The economy of Poland is an emerging and developing, high-income, industrialized mixed economy that serves as the sixth-largest in the European Union by nominal GDP and fifth-largest by GDP (PPP). Poland boasts the extensive public services ch ...
*
List of companies of Poland
Poland is a country located in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges (the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains) in the south. Since the fall of communism many major companies have been established in Pol ...
*
Pesa SA
Pesa SA (Polish language, Polish: Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz) is a Polish rolling stock manufacturer based in Bydgoszcz. The name 'Pesa' derives from the initials PS which stand for ''Pojazdy Szynowe,'' 'railway vehicles' in Polish. Pes ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Rail vehicle manufacturers of Poland
Locomotive manufacturers of Poland
Polish brands
Railway test tracks
Companies established in 1876
1876 establishments in Austria-Hungary