 Before the start of their first season, after gaining support from Belarusian Railways, the team was renamed Lokomotiv Minsk.The team won the Second League in 2001 and finished 3rd in the First League the following year and was promoted to the Belarusian Premier League.Lokomotiv finished in the relegation zone of the table in three of their four seasons in the Premier League; twice they were promoted after only one season, until they got stuck in the First League following relegation in 2008.