The Netherland's FAMOUS double-deck train has THIS big problem...​

Today, we'll be taking a look at the famous Dutch VIRM train, to see if this train live up to its international hype!
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Journey Details:
Origin: Amsterdam Centraal
Destination: Rotterdam Centraal
Company: Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)
Train: NS 9500 'VIRM'
Accommodation: First Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 85 kilometres / 53 miles
Price: €28.22 (£23.80 / $29.70)
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes, arrived 1 minute early
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[@enigmadrath1780]

Dutchie here. What you're really paying for when you buy 1st class tickets is the guarantee that you'll be seated in a section that isn't overcrowded during rush hours 😂 Otherwise there really isn't that much of an upgrade between 1st and 2nd class.

[@lorenzo123yes]

Nowadays at peak times not even 1st class can guarantee you a seat…

[@pinobluevogel6458]

@@lorenzo123yes This is due to not using enough material. The trains have become shorter, even at peak hours and on peak lines. As a recent example, with a normal scheduled international (DB) train coming from Berlin Hbf (running to Amsterdam CS) which was (as normal) packed to the brim with passengers the whole length, 6 full train sets, a small set with a restaurant and a bicycle set (with 2/3 passenger sets as well). At the junction where the passengers can hop onto the train heading to other main stops (Den Haag / Rotterdam), there was a 1 train set, single deck train waiting to take on close to 800 passengers. Needles to say, there wasn't enough to room to even stand, let alone take all these passengers. NS has become a joke of a railroad company, which has been in decline ever since it was privatized. The service has been completely degrading in all catagories, they are more often late, or don't run at all, the trains are dirty, the wifi is extremely slow and there is barely any personell working the train or the stations, so it is extremely hard to get any information. Meanwhile ticket prices have increased over time, to the point that it is now a luxury product and no longer an affordable travel method for ordinary people. If there is even the slightest of snowfall, or some leaves from autumn trees, the train often just doesn't run To be fair, despite the lack of staff working at NS, the ones that do work there are generally friendly, helpful and positive, despite their pay being somewhat low. I guess the people that really want to work in the company are the main ones that are left.

[@AndreBense]

When there's a seriousl rush hours crowd, people will just sit in first class regardless of if they're allowed to. Conductors do not check tickets when it's too crowded for obvious reasons.

[@lorenzo123yes]

@@AndreBense man conductors can't check because there is no space to get to you in the first place haha

[@oilme128]

I do sometimes pay for first class if I have a long ride, and outside of peak hours it’s actually pretty nice. You always have a wall plug for your laptop/iPad, you can adjust the back rest of the seat, and you are way less likely to sit between people playing music, people making loud phone calls or other weirdo’s. Most other people that sit in first class are pretty quiet and well behaved. It’s also less busy in general, so no one sits next to you and you have both seats for yourself.

[@MatthieuDeW]

One of the reasons why most NS trains don't meet the expected sanitary standards as of late is lack of personnel. Last I checked the company was looking for at least 20,000 new staff members, mostly stewards and cleaning personnel.

[@mancubwwa]

I've traveled on one of these a decade ago and it was filthy back than. So it's not a new problem.

[@Neville60001]

@@mancubwwa, and yet, people want to *_love_* to blast Amtrak and VIA Rail.🙄 At least both Amtrak and VIA keep their trains clean.

[@justachannel8642]

And if they get personnel, they usually don't get paid well

[@mancubwwa]

@@Neville60001 the problem with Amtrak is that outside northeast corrridor it's always late and offers barebones service. The fact that it gets one thing right doesn't get it off the hook. NS maybe dirty, but it offers frequent and punctual service. That said, compared to Belgian Railways it's sucks.

[@Neville60001]

@@mancubwwa, I really _don't_ give a shit about how late either of them (Amtrak & VIA Rail) are; all that matters in this instance is that the trains of both services are clean. Both of these services are negatively compared to NS for problems that have a lot to do with how (frankly) big both the U.S. and Canada are, the fact that people prefer to drive rather than take the train (for reasons known to them, and not just to be blasted because they've chosen that particular mode of transport which isn't 'cool' or 'proper' for them to do so,, _despite_ car/truck/vans/buses becoming electric) and because, even _if_ they were 'improved' to European and Souththeast Asian standards, they'd still be blasted anyway. Do they have their flaws? Yes, because nothing is perfect, but for what service they both _do_ provide, people are satisfied (and the service for Amtrak is getting better as a result of President Biden's infrastrure bill, plus Amtrak's getting new trains to replace the current ones) and what's more, they're _clean_ , the most important thing _even if they're not as fast as European, Scandinavian, or Southeast Asian ones_ . NS _may_ be amazing, but compared to any of the train services here in North America, it's wallowing in filth.

[@keizervanenerc5180]

A shame you got the old dirty original '90s version instead of a cleaner and more modernized refurbished. It's unlucky too. Most VIRMs are refurbished by now.

[@keizervanenerc5180]

To clarify, VIRM 4 is indeed the newest VIRM but all older models have already been refurbished in the mid 2010's leaving the VIRM 4 as the oldest and dirtiest of the VIRM family. The refurbished versions have different seats and completely modernised toilets.

[@NovaLeeft]

@@keizervanenerc5180 well not entirely true tbh. the VIRMm1 entered service in 2016, with the last kind of modernised VIRM (VIRMm2/3) not even fully finished yet. But otherwise yeah ur right they are better

[@AL5520]

An older train does not mean a dirty train. You can clean the window, seats, floor, toilet and graffiti on any train, regardless of it's age. Newer or refurbished models might be nicer, more comfortable or better designed but all trains should be clean and well maintained.

[@janbaukespoelstra6839]

Dirty ?😂😂😂

[@thewatcher_476]

these ones are much more comfortable than the flow ones stuff imo

[@BuzzinsPetRock78]

A few things (as a Dutchy) - These trains have been overhauled, and unless I am mistaken, you travelled on a train that wasn't overhauled yet (the striping on the outside is different). - Fun fact: In the original versions of these trains, there used to be a trolley service that sold drinks and snacks, to accommodate this there was a small lift in between the stairs going up and down from the balcony area (where you get in). As the trolley service wasn't a success, they cancelled it and the lifts were removed in the newer designs. - As others have pointed out: It's Laan van Nieuw-Oost Indië not Oosteinde (noi would not make sense then) - I personally have never travelled first class on any Dutch trains for the simple reason that the extra price isn't worth it. Most people I know will only ever travel first class if they can get their employer to pay for it. - There is also another type of double decker train in use (DDZ), that were originally mostly used for stopper services. (they have all been overhauled as well) - The times listed on the platform boards are always departure times, not arrival times, don't let those fool you into thinking your train arrived early :) (It might have done, but you'll have to look it up in the official time tables) - The toilets aren't usually this bad, at least not on the lines I would travel....but the overall hygiene is a problem as usually the turn around for trains is very short.

[@jacques7799]

At the time of the trolley service, there was hardly any food or drink at the stations to take away. That changed (in the second half of the nineties?) Kiosk (one of the first I think), Smullers, etc.Then the trolley service experienced a sudden death.

[@thimovijfschaft3271]

Yeah the newer trains have much better and cleaner toilets

[@cyrilio]

There where lifts!? TIL

[@BuzzinsPetRock78]

@@cyrilio yes, but only large enough for the trolley, not humans 😅

[@TheSuperappelflap]

It depends on the line you take. I rarely have filthy train compartments. But, traveling from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, well, both those cities happen to have a lot of football fans, and they tend to drink too much and make a mess after the games. I was unfortunate enough to have to take the last train home from Rotterdam after working an evening shift for a while and it was quite an experience.

[@MartinIbert]

The "soap powder dispenser" is actually a soap mill. You have to turn it by hand to shave off soap from a solid bar of soap inside, so you need a lot of turns to get a meaningful amount of soap. Provided that there actually is a soap bar in there of course. Outside of trains (some German trains have them, too), the last time I saw soap mills was in primary/elementary school, back in the Seventies.

[@florianmeier3186]

They are quite common in Central European trains - not so much in Germans anymore and in principle they work rather well.

[@natehill8069]

Wow, I had forgotten those existed.

[@florianmeier3186]

Often still in night trains or other old compartment trains from 1970-1980s like old IC/ECs. Newer ones often have liquid soap like ICE/Railjet. The system is not that bad as you need not much soap and it can be easily stored. As you only have to touch the little spokes, I guess it is also rather OK in terms of hygienic standards and rather robust compared to pumping systems with pipes and hoses.@@natehill8069

[@dkpqzm]

They still make those? I haven't seen those since elementary school in the sixties

[@peterparker219]

I think they're a pre-WW2 invention probably inspired by a pepper mill, but they're sturdy, easy to use and cheap to operate.

[@amrastheluckywoof5524]

If multi-level stations impress you, you should visit Antwerp. The station has 3 levels with tracks, and at street level, there's a gallery with shops. And of course, the station building is one of the most beautiful in the world.

[@TwoWholeWorms]

Antwerp Central is a cathedral to transport, and an astonishing feat of engineering.

[@amrastheluckywoof5524]

@@TwoWholeWorms I know. And I'm proud to call the "railroad cathedral" my home station. Every workday I start my day there. I'm a train driver.

[@yagi3925]

@@TwoWholeWorms It was built when Belgium was an economic, and in particular an industrial, super power.

[@cooltwittertag]

@@yagi3925 belgium was never a superpower, but looking at the construction time it was probably built using the blood money from the most brutal colony in world history, so i wouldn't be so proud of that :)

[@dp0456]

Or Berlin Hbf

[@siem8254]

yea this is pretty much how i expected this review to go, i ride the virm almost everday. the trains are find to get to work and back. the seat are nice. the luggage issue is quit known. esspecially on the trains to and form Schiphol, there is just no where to go with a big suitcase. and the dirtyness is also sometimes annoying. the NS has been struggeling with this for a while and it has got a lot worst during and after corona. during rush hour these rains can be supidly full.

[@daviddietzen3735]

As for the luggage issue, in my experience almost everyone with luggage seems to completely ignore or fail to notice the plentiful space between seat backs in compartments with bays of 4. (Upstairs on unrefurbished models, downstairs on refurbished ones.) The refurbished models also have a luggage rack next to the stairs on the upper deck - which I barely see being used either - so all decks have dedicated luggage space.

[@siem8254]

@@daviddietzen3735 that is true. I also believe big part of the travels with huge luggage aren't regular train travels. More and more are just tourists and Dutchies who dont want to park at schiphol (Wich is logical) almost all chose to sit on the lower Deck. I personally believe NS should help these people and indicate these luggage places better. This problem has been around for years.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Sounds like a pretty typical close range city to city train. Not perfect, but pretty good for the job.

[@owls893]

in rush hour these are like sardine-cans. terrible.

[@caveymon]

@@owls893 in rush hour EVERY train is like a sardine-can in the Netherlands. Especially in de Randstad :D Not just these. The other doubledeckers are worse imho. (DD-AR, DDZ series)

[@martijn_sch]

There are a few remarks on this video: - Nowadays you can acces the station using your debit or credit card. When checking out with the same card, the travel fare will be debited from your card at the end of the day. This system called OVpay can be used all over the country on all public transport. - Almost all VIRM trains are refurbished, this is an old one wich is not refurbished yet. The new one is definetly better. - The first station in Den Haag (Laan van NOI) its name is actually: Den Haag Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië ('Avenue of the New East Indies') - The other station in Den Haag (HS) its name is actually: Den Haag Hollands Spoor, wich got its name from a former railway company merged in to NS.

[@racingweirdo]

None of the gen 4 is refurbisch

[@mattjware]

So you can use touchless/tap to pay with intercity trains? Thanks, I have been trying to plan a journey and couldn't find clear information about whether you cou.d

[@MeneerEnMevrouwTrein]

OVpay only works for 2nd class.

[@crytocc]

@@mattjware It should actually work for _almost_ all public transit in the Netherlands now; to my knowledge, various 'buurtbussen' (small volunteer-operated buses in regular service) are the only ones where it isn't possible yet, and there it should be implemented later this year.

[@barvdw]

​@@MeneerEnMevrouwTreinthat's a shame. Are you aware of any plans to allow for adding this possibility, same as on the OV-chipkaart (with a dedicated post on the platform to activate 1st class)?

[@Mr.Nobody023]

Just some information. The current Haarlem station is actually the third station that was build in Haarlem and opened in 1908. The first station was build in 1839 at the place where the big maintenance workshop is before the bridge over the river. And the station in Den Haag is called Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië, not Oosteinde (that was the old name)

[@cheeta92]

The street the track cross is called Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië in The Hague (right hand side from Leiden) but Oosteinde in Voorburg (left hand side of the station).

[@kaelon9170]

While true that the current station building was opened in 1908, the station as a whole has been at the current site since 1842. In 1908 the old station building from 1842 was demolished and replaced with the current station building, and a canopy was built over the tracks. But the platforms remained relatively unchanged and have been there since 1842. Except for platform 8 which was added in 1953.

[@RunawayTrain2502]

"Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië" means "Avenue of the New East-Indies".

[@joopjansen9102]

FYI: Den Haag HS means Den Haag Hollands Spoor, Den Haag's oldest station, built in 1843.

[@maozedong44]

@@joopjansen9102 The Dude completely ignored that beautiful station :(

[@patrickjane419]

I love this channel mainly because he's not one of those vloggers who is constantly talking loudly into the camera while being a menace to the others while doing it. The footage is outstanding, the speech, the script, everything is top notch. Keep it up man!

[@benedettobruno1669]

...and may I add, how refreshing to find out there are still some British people, like this man, being able to speak for an entire video and not using uptalk even once. Thank God for that!

[@ercanyilmaz8108]

Thank you for this good presentation. As a resident of the Netherlands, I can say that ticket prices keep going up, while cuts are made in services. The result is the dirt in the train and missing staff to ask questions and so on.

[@pinobluevogel6458]

For a country that wants more people to take public transport over their cars, making it unaffordably expensive and worse is definitely not the way to go.

[@joggelweekend]

Nonsense, Dutch people don't take hygiene very well and don't clean up their mess.

[@raiden24]

@@pinobluevogel6458 The NS is fully privatized, the government is only a shareholder and not directly in control of company policy, therefore the NS is free to maximize profits as it sees fit. Thus if the government makes it more expensive to take the car to encourage people to take public transport, then the NS has extra room to push their ticket prices up and/or cut service, given that because of its monopoly on rail service their only real competition is the car. If the government is serious about rail travel being the main mode of transportation it either needs to semi-nationalize the NS again so it can set ticket prices and levels of service. Or it needs to allow other train companies on the main rail network to allow for real market competition. Otherwise after eliminating most travel by car all you're left with is a state-sponsored private transportation monopoly and that can't end well.

[@pinobluevogel6458]

@@raiden24 To be fair, it already is a state sponsored private transportation monopoly, but you make some valid points regardless. I'm not against a free market solution, but nothing about how they operate and how the government makes laws is truly free market anyways, so they might as well bring it back under government control and force normal pricing. (or make it free like some political parties advocate)

[@NotFlappy12]

@@raiden24 I am personally definitely in favor of nationalizing the railways. I believe quality control is the most important thing for such an important piece of infrastructure (together with accessability, which is already regulated anyway, if I'm not mistaken).

[@DasunBuwanekaLiyanaarachchi]

You mentioned this as long distance train , but it is practically commuter train as well . Acrtually this is one option I use from my commute from Den Haag to Amsterdam .

[@TaronTT]

Considering these sets are only used for IC services, it's definitely not a commuter trainset.

[@damancia_rajongo_1]

@@TaronTT Unless, of course, if you commute by an IC train, which is very common in the Netherlands, especially in and around the Randstad (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht). :)

[@barvdw]

​@@TaronTTlet's face it, only in the Netherlands (or perhaps Belgium or Denmark) would this service be called an Intercity. As would most Dutch IC trains btw, especially in the Randstad, at best, they're an RE (Regional Express) in Germany. Distances are such that even on a Dutch IC, they are perfectly commutable.

[@TaronTT]

@@damancia_rajongo_1 doesn't change the purpose of the trainset. Sprinters are commuter trainsets.

[@TaronTT]

@@barvdw your point? I was talking about the rolling stock, not how you class your service

[@justint.3916]

Damn, you got the one train they haven't modernised. That's a shame to be fair. If you got the new train, they would be much better in my opinion.

[@BubblesBub434]

they have worse seats and still no luggage space and still a lack of toilets and still are dirty. All of the main critique points still hold for the modern one, the modern one just looks a bit sleeker.

[@patrickreuvekamp]

@@BubblesBub434 The first wave of modernisations actually has really good seats in first class. But they can still be rather filthy indeed.

[@Me1le]

Great video, great pronunciation and great info. I do feel the urge to correct you on Den Haag. It is true this is the seat of both government and parliament and this can be confusing as it is not a capital city (not even a shared or a secondary one). There is only one capital city and this is Amsterdam as defined by the Dutch constitution.

[@evo3s75]

Hij bedoelt waarschijnlijk hoofdstad van de provincie Zuid Holland, wat Den Haag is. Je hebt een landelijke hoofdstad, dat is Amsterdam. Maar dan heb je ook hoofdsteden van provincies, en de hoofdstad van Noord Holland is Haarlem

[@Me1le]

@@evo3s75 Dit is waar, maar ik denk eerder dat het komt door de zetel van de regering ik heb vaker met mensen in het buitenland gesproken die dit vreemd vinden (en de Nederlandse situatie is ook vrij uniek). In bijna alle landen is de hoofdstad de stad waar de politieke macht zit. Nederland is anders want de hoofdstad staat gedoneerd in de Grondwet. (In een stuk over de beëdiging van de koning) Had deze bijzijn niet in de Grondwet gestaan, dan was den Haag naar alle waarschijnlijkheid de hoofdstad geweest

[@heroicnonsense]

In most countries, the capitol is the seat of government. Not so in the Netherlands, where The Hague seats the government and Amsterdam... well... mostly attracts tourists. It's an odd construction, mostly to do with Napoleon who appointed Amsterdam as the capitol in 1806 when he formed the Kingdom (and appointed his brother as king). Before 1806, in fact all the way back to the 14th century, The Hague was capitol of the state of Holland and later the default meeting place of the representatives of the united Dutch states and later the de facto capitol of the republic of The Netherlands (although, officially, the republic didn’t have a capitol). After the French were kicked out, the new royal family decided to retain Amsterdam as capitol, even though they decided to reside in The Hague to be close to the senate and parliament. Interesting fact: even during the French occupation the "king" never resided in Amsterdam - his favourite palace was 'Welgelegen' in Haarlem with 'Soestdijk' in second place.

[@sdf6508]

@@evo3s75nee want dan zouden we 12 ‘second capitals’ hebben

Also: "Den Haag Laan van Nieuw Oost Indië" 😉

[@samtrak1204]

The boxy "modern" entrance destroys the elegant facade of Amsterdam Central.

[@mfbfreak]

11:10 in 2nd class, you can put suitcases in the gaps between the seats that face away from each other. In the modern DDZ double deckers, the little food and drinks trolley elevator space (there used to be an airplane-style food and drinks trolley on longer journeys, which necesssitated a little elevator in double deckers) has also been converted to a compartment for suitcases. In the VIRM this space has been converted to passenger space. Since not too many people travel with suitcases, this is usually enough. It has to be said that many people who do travel with big luggage, don't use those compartments but elect to keep them by their side either on an empty seat, or in the aisle.

[@misterjeffa2128]

Some VIRM revisions also have the luggage rack in the old elevator spot.

[@hesseldijkstra5327]

When traveling from airport Schiphol with suitcases and a carryon, traveling by train is a challenge, because many travelers with suitcases will board the train at that station.

[@gerhard6105]

Indeed, the room between the seats is designed for suitcases. Some people do not look further then their nise is long.

[@gerhard6105]

Indeed, the room between the seats is designed for suitcases. Some people do not look further then their nise is long.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Most trains have overhead storage for larger items of luggage that dont fit between the seats or on your lap. However, the double deckers dont have enough headroom for the overhead racks, so storing luggage in those is more difficult. But they are mostly meant for commutes to and from work, they arent used at Schiphol, so if youre traveling to or from the airport with luggage you should have overhead storage.

[@AndrewG1989]

I know that the UK can’t have double decker trains because of bridge height restrictions but these double decker trains are massive and can handle more passengers.

[@EdgyNumber1]

I think they use the GC+ gauge, so you would also need to modify platform edges and tunnel widths too.

[@ReyOfLight]

Netherlands is also a tiny country which is very densely populated. Like they've crammed in over 17 million people in a country that is about 1,5 the size of my home region in Sweden (my region has about 1,8 million people or so if I remember it right) so it's only natural that the trains in Netherlands needs to be able to take a large number of passengers. Personally I'd even go as far as calling all trains in Netherlands commuter trains due to the short distances. I'm yet to visit Netherlands myself other than having had a flight transfer at Schiphol on one of my trips to and from China in 2010, but it's a country I'm likely to visit a fair bit when able to as the love of my life is Dutch

[@nickhiscock8948]

Sydney's double decker trains are definitely wider as they are 2 + 3 seating on both decks. But the upper decker always seem cramped for head room.

[@jsoftj]

Basically, our rail network is too old for double deckers.

[@teaser6089]

@@jsoftj A large percentage of the British train network hasn't been upgraded since it was electrified(with exception of maintenance of course) and most tunnels still date from almost 150 years ago or older. That is why HS2 was so expensive and why it is such a shame the Tories are scrapping the plans(yes I know parts are still kept, but it doesn't connect into London anymore, so it is absolutely useless).

[@dominicdiamond483]

You need to give the soap dispenser 2-3 full turns, so it can scrape off the dry soap inside - if it‘s filled and working correctly. In case you want to see how it looks on the inside, enter Sapor soap dispenser in the search. 😊

[@JD-wn3cc]

Good video. Never seen your channel before but this video came up in recommendations. Really enjoyed the flow and the level of research you did

[@TheRepublicOfYhonai]

I love how £28.22 for a fully flexible first class ticket is expensive 😂 that would be incredibly cheap in the UK!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

This ticket ( www.brfares.com/!faredetail?orig=EXD&dest=PLY&rte=1000&tkt=FCR ) is for a similar distance, for £5 more...but it's a return. Also you get free food and drink. Just an example, but I do agree that UK rail travel is generally heavily overpriced.

[@florianmeier3186]

Yes, for European standards it is not expensive.

[@misterjeffa2128]

yes and it in the netherlands is doesnt matter when you buy it either. 4 months before or just 2 minutes before departure? same price. I know that often isnt the case in the UK.

[@teaser6089]

@@SuperalbsTravels This train is not one of the newest VIRM units, it was actually one of the oldest. Most have already been refurbished with complete new seating layout, providing mostly 2x2 instead of 2x1 seating for 2nd and 1st class. New seating and 4 USB-A charging ports per group of seats.

[@owls893]

for just an hour ride this is expensive, yes. Was it even a one-way ticket?? that's shocking.

[@tobaben92]

Would love to see a video on the ICNG. Very curiously awaiting the DSB version here in Denmark for 2025.

[@pablodavico]

I liked that your arrival was at 12:17, exactly the length of the video.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

That's awesome. I never noticed. 😂

[@Veederlicht]

Very recognisable and truthful!

[@fritsvanzanten3573]

When these trains were introduced a new feature was there were no windows that could be opened, and it was kind of airconditioned. Until then trains could be very hot in summers, and, regardless temperature people had different preferences about ventilation, so often discussion arose about opening or closing the windows, also because when you opened the wi dows at your seat, people in the seats behind you got the draught. Opening the windows also caused considerable noise. On the other hand you couldn't stick you head out anymore to say goodbye or get a better view, and for what German trains had warning signs in four languages, with the enigmatic Italian 'È pericoloso sporgersi'. But in summer these trains were very comfortable temperature-wise.

[@disslikedaan9532]

Would love to see more video’s from the Netherlands!

[@BananenBoerBob]

Reliability is great on those compared to the other trains running in the Netherlands. Comfort on that specific seat layout is actually better in second class if there is room to take up 2 seats. You get less slippy fabric and no armrest (that is too low for practical use) in between the seats. Although there are better seat layouts on some of the VIRMs. The cleanliness is abyssmal on all the trains, ocassionally one gets forced out of comission for cleaning because it is deemed too dirty. One can only attempt to fathom how bad it must have been for that to be the case.

[@luisstransport]

Great trip report

[@RFGfotografie]

Awesome video.

[@barvdw]

There's definitely a problem with cleanliness, but honesty, i think you let passengers off the hook a bit too easy. While there should be more cleaning staff including while the train is on the move, i've seen trains quite literally leave the sidings, cleaned and restocked, turned into a pigsty before it reached the first terminus (on average, a Dutch train will fo at least 4-6 return trips a day). And with the very limited layover time, there's only so much you can clean... Combined with a lack of cleaning (and other) staff, you get this. And i have seen it worse (spilled soda, entire picknicks just strewn all over the place...), this was actually fairly mild in comparison...

[@tamoroso]

Concur; the trains wouldn't get as dirty (nor would they have as much graffiti) if more people gave a damn.

[@AnimilesYT]

I'd love to see a video on the Wesp. I'm Dutch myself, so I already knew about everything you showed in this video. I can also confirm that you've had a very average journey/train. Also, your pronunciation is very good! The only thing which isn't pronounced correctly is at 3:07, but most things were spot on. And with the number of Dutch names/words you've said it's really impressive that just one of them is not really correct. I really appreciate it when people put some time into learning the proper pronunciation of things :D

[@GabrielViana-mg3vh]

Ja he doesn’t know what a Wesp is dummy. Just call it the ICNG

[@tikket10]

i found his pronounciation a bit germanised

[@lukefowler9740]

Really? Dutch second language speaker here and I only thought "Rotterdam" and "Haarlem" were close to sounding Dutch. I cringed at his pronunciation of "Centraal" and adding the sj sound to Amsterdam is very ... Amsjterdamsje ;)

[@WhizzarD44]

Ha! I love how you add wind noise on google maps, and distant city noise when closing up. So immersive...

[@Martin_TrainSpotter]

Amazing! I really like the VIRM! ♥️🇳🇱♥️

[@paulthiel5145]

I ride it several times a week and I can tell you that it's anything but amazing riding it as a passenger 🤐

[@evo3s75]

@@paulthiel5145 I also ride it multiple times a week and it's great in ride and seating comfort imo. It's just lacking in the cleanliness department..

[@paulthiel5145]

@@evo3s75 clearly we have to agree to disagree then

[@ulvesparker]

I LOVE those old, grand, train stations in Europe. The Amsterdam and Copenhagen stations are my favourites as they combined the old building with all the modern conveniences. I feel like I am in a Humphrey Bogart movie.

[@paulkroon4931]

Then you should also look at Haarlem. Inside is the actual old wooden station from the first iteration. There are first, second AND third class waiting areas in their original setup. Den Haag HS (Hollands Spoor) is also quite interesting as it is monumental with its high roof with its special ventilation which dates back from the coals fired steaming period.

[@teaser6089]

Heerlen has a really nice station, it isn't an old one, but they build a very beautiful station building with shops and even apartments around the station all in the same style.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Amsterdam objectively is the ugliest train station in the country, on the inside. It only looks good from out front. There are train stations that havent been renovated since world war 2 that look better.

[@thebigskyguy]

Go see the main station in Leipzig, Germany. I think it's the largest in Europe. Very grand, imposing.

[@darkknight8139]

Compared to other European countries, the first class in NS trains offers very limited extra value over second class, while being a whopping 70% more expensive than second class. In this case, you got VIRM 4, which has the worst first class seats of all first class intercity trains, and will be the last generation to be refurbished in the future. The older generations 1 and 2 have been refurbished and are excellent right now. The very old but very reliable and comfortable ICM stock (built in the 80s) were refurbished around 2005, they offer lots more comfort in first class than this 2009 VIRM 4 stock. First class in regional Sprinter service is a laugh: the seats are exactly the same as second class, but the upholstry is red. First class always costs exactly 70% more than second class, in this case you get the same seats... Having first class is nice, but I don't think it offers enough value in The Netherlands. Especially compared to the ICE service between Amsterdam and Frankfurt, or the Thalys service to Paris, where second class is as luxurious as first class in an NS intercity train. The new ICNG trains serving on the high speed line are way better than the VIRM trains, but still too expensive for what you get. And don't forget the extra 'toeslag' you must pay on the platform: a fixed fee for traveling on the high speed line.

[@owls893]

i agree. in most Dutch trains 1st class only offers more quiet. Because most travel 2d, for this reason. But quiet is a luxury in this country, so that's atleast something. In earlier days we even had a coffee service, someone who came by with a flexible trolley. This country is in decay atm, just like UK, so lack of personell and proper hygiene is missing too.

[@RH-ro3sg]

I agree. I don't think paying the premium is worth it, so I usually travel 2nd class. If I _were_ to travel 1st class, it would be for the quiet it offers, not for the extra features.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

A Thalys to Paris also costs at least 60 euro. I will take my cheap dirty NS train, thank you very much, the French can pay as much as they want for their fancy trains.

[@RobCCTV]

I travelled on this recently, re-experiencing my childhood, when these trains were the latest tech. Yes, the cleaning standards of the train were very poor, but for me that is more than compensated-for by the marvellous high view.

[@Dani-it5sy]

You get a much nicer view when you sit upstairs. I would definitely recommend it 😉

[@robyoungquist5803]

I’ll never understand the “thrill” of defacing/trashing property that doesn’t belong to me. 🤔. I agree, Matt, cleanliness is definitely NOT NS’s strong suit. 😒. To me, there’s just no excuse for uncleanliness but then again I’m Swedish 🇸🇪 so … 🤣🤣

[@grassytramtracks]

Indeed, no good excuse for not keeping trains clean. Not enough staff? Hire more

[@barvdw]

​@@grassytramtracksthey're trying, but there are 100s of vacancies, not just at the 'menial' jobs like cleaners, btw, they also had to reduce frequencies because of a lack of drivers and conductors.

[@keahnig164]

I'm Swiss and same here.🇨🇭 I will never understand that!

[@xixi560]

I'm a railfan but I could try explain it if wanted. At least graffiti, even to the point of purely 'senseless' vandalism/destruction. A lot of the films I watched as a child were from Stockholm. The sound of the C20's traction motors will forever be etched into my brain, with graffiti tied to it. Not advocating for it necessarily or anything, but the psychology behind it and the fact people don't seem to get it has interested me for a while

[@mitchystuff]

@@grassytramtracks theyre trying to hire but since their working conditions suck, most people dont wanna work there.

[@backup_hdd]

regarding the "powder-soap dispensers that i can never really figure out": i personally actually really love those (the soap feels really comfortable imo) - if they're not empty, that is. about not being able to figure it out: just rotating the wheel thingy while placing your hand below should do the job.. you tried that, right? (i'm not from the netherlands, but we have something that looks just alike in austrian double-decker commuter trains.. and, well, the soap dispensers do tend to be empty a lot..)

[@Qurasia]

The one thing that surprised me in this video is that you actually managed to connect to the free wifi. Feels like that only works like 1 out of 4 times in NS trains I take. 😆

[@Tclans]

Loving this ‘review’, along with all the extra fact strewn in. Though I’m disappointed you didn’t pronounce Den Haag HS fully as Hollands Spoor. 😅😂 All the other pronunciations, top notch.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thank you! :)

[@Jacob-W-5570]

As a Dutch person, I actually prefer the older Koploper and Hondekop single deck trains, they have more space in 2nd class, and as they generally run in the east and not in the randstad, where people are a bit more civil still, they are a lot cleaner. One thing I see a lot from international people, Den Haag ('s Gravenhage) is NOT "another capital", Amsterdam is the only Capital of the Netherlands. 's Gravenhage is the seat of the government, that does not make it a capital.

[@gerhard6105]

's-Gravenhage. Dus met een "streepje" tussen de s en de G.

[@Wig4]

@@gerhard6105 Niet relevant voor de context. (...//...)

[@gerhard6105]

@@Wig4 jawel: als je het doet, doe het dan goed.

[@sanderdeboer6034]

Second class is almost the same as first class AND most people who regularly travel on trains have the 40 percent discount added to their OV card. (I do and it saves me a LOT of money) I traveled from my sister who lives near Leeuwarden to Zaandam last weekend and it costed me 17 euros one way. A three hour journey of a few hundred km. I agree many of the older trains are dirty, however the recently reversed double deckers look great. (For now)

[@Iris_and_or_George]

6:51 They used to have cleaners go through the train at every end station, this was cut to cut costs, now it's down to only at the end of a day on many lines.

[@taridean]

Watching this reminds so much of my brief time living in Haarlem. Used to catch this train all the time heading into Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Being from the UK, the first time using this service I missed the train a couple of times. This was because in Netherlands the time displayed is when the trains departed from the platform, unlike in the UK where it's the time it arrives (when it's not already running late) 😅.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

And they leave pretty much on the second, if they wait 10 seconds for someone to board that means the next train will have to slow down and wait. So when the conducter blows his whistle that means you are not allowed to hop in anymore, you have to watch the doors close and wait for the next train.

[@crytocc]

For those soap dispensers: you're supposed to rotate the wheel all the way around, it will 'click' several times in the process.

[@barvdw]

You also need to wet your hands first, so the soap can dissolve and sticks better to your hands.

[@Djenzh]

Great video! I've been using the Dutch trains on an almost daily basis since 2020 (when I started studying in Leiden & Delft) until very recently when I got a studio in Leiden. I used to travel from Alkmaar to Leiden, which is always in two parts. 1) Take a 'sprinter' (train that stops at each station) to Haarlem and 2) from Haarlem, take an intercity to Leiden. Around the time of Covid (march 2020 until roughly august 2021) the trains were actually not that bad. Sure, you had to wear a face-mask, but with most people working from home the trains wouldn't be so filthy. There were very few delays (I'd say roughly once every 3 weeks) and if there were, they weren't quite as significant. Now, after Covid blew over and people started taking the trains more again, things got worse. Much much worse, it isn't even funny. The 'filth' you saw? Yeah, that's clean compared to how trains normally look (except the bathrooms, but in my 3 years of taking the trains I've never even dared to set foot there). Oh, and how about the delays? Much more frequent. So much so, that from august 2022 I've been counting them (only on my route) and can confidently say that every week there would be at least one big delay. I'm talking 30+ minutes. Some highlights are: Trying to get back from Delft after a long day of studying. Trying to take the train from 19:00, but due to problems with the signals there were no trains travelling. I ended up having to take a train from 23:00, and got back home 1:30. Keep in mind, next day I had to get up again at 5:00. Another 'fun' one, was quite recently, when their logistics were so god awful that a passanger train slammed into a crane (luckily I wasn't on that one). The entire train ended up derailing and ended up in some field. It ended up being international news. (Credit where credit is due, there was only 1 death, that was the crane operator, everyone in the train made it out alive, so the trains are quite sturdy, I'll give them that). Another 'fun' example was when I had to get back from Leiden and there was a disturbance from Haarlem to Alkmaar, which would end up not being fixed until the day after. Then there is only one other way, that's a detour via Zaandam. Guess what? Another disturbance on that one too. And you guessed it! Would not be fixed until the day after that! I literally couldn't get home via the trains. A bus would take about 5 hours so yeah, now what? Luckily my parents could pick me up from Haarlem, otherwise I would have been screwed. Finally, I'll add that not only the trains are awful nowadays, but some of the people on them as well. I've literally had 3 consecutive days of a trains being cancelled because annoying ass people would cause disturbances. I've seen cops being called to get these people out, because the NS doesn't have enough security. Quite logical, because NS staff is pretty underpaid, (so much so that there were national strikes), but even after the strikes there still isn't enough staff. I want to make clear that I don't bear any grudge to the actual staff of the NS, that keep the (limited amount of) trains running. My gripes are purely with the executives of this absolute joke of a company.

[@zzzzzz9784]

We aint reading all that

[@pinobluevogel6458]

Even though I'm not entirely sure it is relevant for everyone, I appreciate the longer writing on this comment. Having been using NS trains on and off for close to 25 years now, I can safely say it used to be a lot better and - more importantly - cheaper. Being a student with an OV card is definitely a lifesaver if you have to travel multiple times a week. As I see it the main issues with the NS currently are: it is way too expensive, the service is unreliable and not robust (down to even not running at all at even the slightest issue) and they have way too few staff. There should be at least one living human being on every station where you can go for information, at the very least at moderate to larger stops. Even in Rotterdam CS, one of the largest trainstations in the Netherlands, it took me 15 minutes to locate an NS employee to even ask the most basic question. This is just incredibly unfriendly to consumers. Not to mention if everything is automated, why are we paying such exorbitant amounts for our tickets? It would make sense if that money went to covering the salaries of the employees, but with all these automated systems they have no valid reason for it to be this expensive. Considering it should be a viable alternative to car travel, the least that should change is make it cheap. With the NS holding a monopoly on train travel in our country, there is also no way to avoid using them and no alternative.

[@irishuisman1450]

I'd like to point out that the accident with the crane was the first of its kind in _many_ years. The Dutch railway network is one of the safest in the world, and I'm fairly sure the investigation as to what happened there is still ongoing. The fact that it happened at all was extremely shocking.

[@pinobluevogel6458]

@@irishuisman1450 While I'm not very impressed with the service as a whole (and the pricing in particular) I think you are very correct in that the NS has been really safe over all these years. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@___echo___]

@@zzzzzz9784 TLDR, way too many f-in delays, its a massive problem. I would say from anecdotal experience that like half the trains are delayed ~5 minutes, 10% have big delays (~20 minutes) and ~5% get cancelled. WAY TOO UNRELIABLE

[@tinovanderzwanphonocave544]

as a Dutch person, my earliest memory of this train was a magazine article in 1983 so this train is now 40 years old! the other article I remember from this 1983 magazine was of a Japanese flat-screen TV.

[@DavidWood2]

I'm impressed at the final destination in the description: *Rotherham* Centraal!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Oh no 😭😭😭

[@DavidWood2]

@@SuperalbsTravels Aww - you fixed it! Thanks for the laugh, though - it was all the funnier because there is a Rotherham Central station.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

@@DavidWood2 Yeah, that would be a funny route! 🤣

[@lexmole]

I travelled a few times through the Netherlands, and I made the same experience. I really like NS for being very reliable and on-time. But the InterCity's current state is embarrassing. One would never expect that from such a modern country. The trains are oftentimes dirty from outside and inside. I wonder if they even clean the trains once per week (from inside, from outside obviously not, they look as though they had never been cleaned). Considering the pretty high price for tickets, this is unacceptable.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Its only expensive for foreigners. Local people get a subscription for 40% discount for personal travel, students travel for free, and employers fully reimburse your commute. Considering how many people take the train every day and the massive labour shortages in every sector of the economy, I would say they are generally quite clean.

[@evo3s75]

Kinda sad you got the oldest VIRM (which are often also pretty dirty). You can recognize if it's a refurbished one by the livery, a blue band going over the upper deck's is the oldest one. The one's with a (lighter) blue band going over the bottom deck (and around the door's) is the 1st refurbished variant. The one's which have a blue roof with a completely yellow/orange-ish painted side with a big white NS logo are the newest one's (we call them VIRM Flow cause of that livery) And the max speed of 140km/h is because of the old Dutch safety system (ATB) which does not allow for higher speeds. They're working on implementing ERTMS so our trains can run at 160km/h on the tracks which are already made for those speeds (like the track between Amsterdam and Utrecht)

[@Uvisir]

this gave me a lot of memories hehe

[@mikkolukas]

10:03 You have to make full rotations of the soap dispenser handle. It works a bit like the salt/pepper-grinder at home.

[@leithr]

This is a great video! I do enjoy riding on Dutch trains, although I agree they are usually dirty and oddly slow by European standards. I love the sound those VIRM units make when they are pulling out of the station.

[@RH-ro3sg]

In this particular case, I think the train stops at too many stations and is taking a bit of a circuitous route in order to serve as many (larger) places as possible. The high speed train he mentions at the end is significantly faster, but most of the time gain is not because of much a higher top speed (it only goes 160 kmh or so), but because of taking a more direct route with fewer stops.

[@drdewott9154]

Its a shame that NS takes such little care of their trains. I guess thats one thing they have in common with DSB back in Denmark where I'm from. Also I'd love to see a review on the ICNG trains. Speaking of DSB btw, if you get the opportunity, reviews of the Danish IC3 and our IR4's would be really nice. They're both Danish "Rubber nose" trains, with one being diesel and the other electric, and with different interiors. The IC3's run on most domestic Intercity and Lightning train services in Denmark, as well as some regional lines like those to Nykøbing Falster. While the IR4 is easy to find on the hourly Intercity route to Esbjerg, and every 2 hourly Lightning train to Sønderborg where it runs conjoined with IC3 DMU's for part of the route going to different destinations.

[@tgn2502]

love how you call them "lightning trains" in Denmark too, we do that in Norway as well haha

[@trunghoadang3710]

It's a hit or miss. I take at least 2 VIRMs to work in Amsterdam and back every single day, but I rarely get dirty old trains. Maybe once or twice a week.

[@teaser6089]

It is a shame, but it's due to the workers shortage, which is obviously caused by them not having high enough wages.

[@drdewott9154]

@@teaser6089 Here its more so due to a shortage of rolling stock. DSB literally doesnt have enough trains to take them out of service for regular cleaning and in some cases upkeep.

[@owls893]

Lack of personel. Our economy is getting wracked, our systems corrupt, it's not going well at all. That leaves traces.

[@Nourdindan]

If ur a student in the Netherlands u can also ask the government for a little "Studenten OV" (Student Public Transport) card that will make the cost of traintravel a debt, BUT if you get your diploma (dagree) within 10 years of getting the studenten OV then the debt will be revoked, which basically makes public transport free for most students in the Netherlands, busses included. As long as you get ur diploma within 10 years. You do pay in the weekend but its 80% off. (you can also choose to have the "Free" trips in the weekend and pay 80% off during the schoolweek)

[@6248fab]

The soap dispenser grinds down a solid piece of soap, just keep rotating it until you have your desired amount of soap shavings

[@AnnabelSmyth]

Was this train not accessible? You didn't mention either way, but if the only choice was steps up or steps down, then presumably not. And yes, of course I'd like to see a video on the high speed service!

[@stepsister3859]

This specific train doesnt have level boarding but it is wheelchair accesible. If u need to enter this train with a wheelchair u can use the app to "order" a person to put a ramp for u to enter

[@heroicnonsense]

The two decks are not accessible, but there is at least one balcony on every VIRM(m) that is reserved for wheelchair/pram/mobility scooter users. The accessible toilet is located on this balcony, as are fold down seats for people that accompany you. This balcony is recognisable by the wheelchair icon on the outer doors. The attendant (see below) will always board you onto this balcony as you can not get from one balcony to the other once on the train. 4-car units have one accessible balcony, 6-car units have two. The VIRM(m) does not feature platform level entry. So a ramp is needed to get on or off the train for wheelchair users. You order one through the app and an attendant will be waiting for you on the platform on both your departing station and destination. Not all stations have this facility, but the bigger ones do. You can generally get to the smaller stations by changing onto a local train which are fully accessible (no need for a ramp) and have plenty of wheelchair/pram/mobility scooter spaces. The new double deckers, planned to arrive in the next 5 years, have level boarding on at least two of the coaches in the unit. These units will replace the older DDZ double deckers and the Koploper units, which means NS is phasing out two trains that do not feature platform level entry in favour of one that does (partially). VIRM(m) is here to stay for at least another 15-20 years though, and will remain the largest class (in numbers) that run Intercity services during that time, so ramps will be necessary for that time frame as well. The newer ICNG has platform level entry for all doors and wheelchair spaces a plenty and will have replaced the loco hauled ICDirect sets by next summer for both domestic services and the services to Belgium. All local trains ("Sprinters") have level entry for all doors too, and at least four wheelchair spaces (depending on the model of train, there could be more).

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

If they are anything like the german double deckers, at least the area by the doors should be level.

[@mitchystuff]

@@HappyBeezerStudios I can tell you, theyre not haha, you have to get up 2 or 3 steps to get into the train. They do have ramps, though not at all stations

[@waldogadellaa]

@@HappyBeezerStudios NS is going to slightly replace all double deck units by single deck trains so those on board ramps will go out of service any time in future. Probably around 2035 - 2040.

[@jhjacobs81]

NS generally takes great pride in its trains. But after Covid 19 there’s a huge shortage of workers.

[@teaser6089]

There is a shortage, so the demand for workers is higher than supply. NS has to increase wages in order to convince the market that workers should come work there.

[@Kevin-gb7lk]

​@@prity5631Dutch public transport is already the most expensive in Europe (second to only Switzerland) iirc

[@pepsdeps]

I remember when I was living in the Netherlands and I once got a VIRM that had three toilets, of which two were blocked and marked as out of order. The only one to be left open was clogged and sloshing nasty water onto that car. I had to get down in the middle of my trip to use one of the station toilets, and then waited for the next train my way.

[@ggkol8745]

Wow, definitely hit the jackpot there! Never even heard of the latter problem, though one of them being out of order is common (same as in other countries from my experience)

[@stijn3085]

Damn, I'm glad you survived!

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Never use the toilets on the trains, there are toilets at every train station that cost 50 cents to use, you can pay with card, and they are generally cleaned every day.

[@cylais3518]

I use this train on the daily and ride them to the final station on the track. The cleaning process consists out of two people that clean some of the bins and the floors are never cleaned here. There are four versions of this train two with fabric seats that are considerably older and then the two with leather second class seats which are actually pretty nice if people clean their mess.

[@walterfillingham]

Great video, however my own personal experience on them is they seem to need a good clean both inside and out. For once even trains here in Inverness seem to be much cleaner. At least ScotRail attempted to wash their trains. Graffiti and general dirt seem to be common on Dutch trains

[@evo3s75]

Yea, we also have a graffiti problem... People in the Netherlands for some reason love tagging shit with their ugly graffiti and tag designs... Even our newest ICNG's already got plastered by those fuckwits..

[@crytocc]

Graffiti is mainly common in toilets; graffiti on the outside tends to be removed pretty quickly. I'd say that Belgian trains are much, much worse on the graffiti on the outside :)

[@wxcferdts]

As your pronunciation of foreign station and city names in other videos is usually top notch and surprisingly good (from Russian to Japanese to German), I was a bit surprised to hear you struggle with Dutch (you actually make it sound too German), and as a Flemish Belgian (Dutch being my native tongue) I'm forced to conclude that Dutch must be a particular difficult language to master phonetically. Still, my admiration holds for you, a Brit, even trying to get foreign sounds down pat!

[@boostio2720]

Yeah It sounds more german than anything

[@teaser6089]

Most English speakers fall for the German trap when trying to speak Dutch, cause they presume that us being next to Germany and having a Germanic language, it must just sound like Germany with slightly different words. In reality of course Dutch and German sound around as different as French does from English.

[@wxcferdts]

Good point, but your final remark isn't. I'm a Dutch speaker AND German teacher, and although both languages differ significantly, they are mutually intelligible to about 25, 30%, something which can in no way be said of English and French (which I also teach and/or taught).@@teaser6089

[@7Coolpablo]

Dutch has a weird pronunciation sometimes. Howevert the conversion to Laan van "Nieuw Oosteinde" is very funny to me as a dutch person. It sounds more like belgium town of Oostende, but is meant to be a link to east indies.

[@pjenestratsienatie1876]

I get this recommended while in exactly one of those trains

[@jessbano3715]

As someone who's worked at all the Starbucks stores of Amsterdam central station, this was fun to watch haha. I never noticed the winged wheel!

[@brilliantroads]

As a Dutch person I've traveled in these many times and I can't keep count on the amount of piss ponds in the toilets I have found in these VIRM's, clean isn't in the book for NS. And when I saw that older German coaches have basic things as comfortable seats and sockets in 2nd class I realised how bad our trains are. Unfortunate...

[@T_hijs]

Sorry hoor, maar de oude Duitse intercityrijtuigen hebben eerder minder stopcontacten dan de VIRM. Maar in deze video troffen we wel een erg smerig exemplaar...

[@brilliantroads]

@@T_hijs Ik heb de afgelopen tijd meerdere keren van Groningen naar de randstad gereisd in een VIRM, DDZ of Hondekop en elke keer is het smerig. De nieuwe VIRM's zijn daarintegen prima maar NS heeft al jaren niet een hoge schoonheidsstandaard en daarmee de reizigers dus ook niet.

[@T_hijs]

@@brilliantroads Ik noemde vooral even de stopcontacten. De smerigheid staat niet ter discussie; het is bij vlagen gewoon ranzig...

[@daanwolters3751]

Sadly the ns has serious manpower shortages, especially when it comes to cleaning staff, ticket inspectors and other on-the-floor type of crew, and it is showing. And about the price, at off peak times you can get 40% off the ticket price for 5 euros a month, or when traveling with someone who has the discount.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

That makes it worth it even for a single trip. The rticket costs 17.90€, take 40% and you'll save 7.16€

[@johnryman1366]

took that train everyday to school from Haarlem to Amsterdam in 1970-72..It was a much more cozy city then

[@thomas-xj1hs]

Thanks Would love to see a video of the high speed line and train, if it is clean...

[@markusstudeli2997]

Small wonder the NS were among the first companies to introduce double decker EMUs on their intercity network: It makes perfect sense to have these type of high capacity trains connecting the many cities in this densely populated country. They look and feel a bit dated though by now. Easy level access should be provided for passengers on wheelchairs, with child carriages or bikes. Given the fact that they are still being upgraded, the Dutch will have to live with them for quite a while still. I'm definitely happy though that I can commute on a KISS instead of a VIRM.

[@lucasdeleeuw1417]

Honestly the problem for bikes and wheelchairs is solved much better than in alot of other countries. In the netherlands the difference in height between the station and the train is extremely small and between every carriage of the the double decker, there is a little space on the same level (no stairs needed) exlusive for bike parking and or wheelchairs. Too bad this wasnt really shown in the video

[@bunch_of_numbers]

​@lucasdeleeuw1417 still even level boarding on interecities like they have on sprinters would be nice. Especially on the ICM units the boarding can be a hassle+ the automatic interior doors are awful

[@teaser6089]

I absolutely love the VIRM, especially the modernized new ones, the one shown in the video is a very old model that is being phased out

[@mitchystuff]

@@lucasdeleeuw1417 thats most likely in sprinters, the inter citys dont have that and you either have to call for a ramp that they do have, or you just carry it in. Ive helped countless times already carrying a childrens carrage with a child still in it haha.

[@lucasdeleeuw1417]

@@mitchystuff ye i have to admit i made that comment having only used the VIRM intercities (which have level boarding), but have since also made use of the icd and koploper, which indeed have horrible boarding. The new icngs are pretty good tho i think and im pretty sure virm is used the most on some of the busiest routes.

[@justrelaxmore]

I often use the Dutch railways and always appreciate their punctuality and reliability. In contrast to that, however, is the condition, or rather, the cleanliness of the trains. From the outside, the trains are usually dirty, and the interiors are covered in graffiti. I try to avoid the toilets as much as I can, and I have never seen clean compartments or seats, regardless of whether it's first or second class. It's always a mystery to me since the Netherlands is otherwise a clean country with exemplary quality standards.

[@derstijn]

Yes, totally agree. I think it's because the main KPI of NS is its punctuality, perhaps followed by providing network information. Cleanlineness apparently doesn't help them (enough) to maintain their monopoly.

[@i.m.385]

There are simply not enough people to clean that many trains.. and there is also not enough time to actually clean the trains since they need to be constantly running with the busy schedules for train sets.. it’s a lose lose for the company, however you can tell.. the older trains (lets say before 2007 design) are always more disgusting, partly because it is more difficult to clean the trains with bad designs. Newer trains make easy access and level surfaces for quick cleaning, and you can tell they stay in better shape.. but still it is not great.

[@NiekNooijens]

Punctuality and reliability? Sir book a trip to Japan and experience the JR for 3 weeks. They make the Dutch railways seem like a sad joke. I'm currently working in Japan for a year and in over 6 months I haven't had a single delay longer than 3 minutes (2 times 1 minute, everything else on time) and haven't had a dirty toilet ever! The difference is night and day!

[@i.m.385]

@@NiekNooijens they are not comparable. In this continent, Europe, the claims are correct

[@amsterdammancom]

@@NiekNooijens From what I've seen about being crammed into a Japanese train, I'll take a dirty seat over a sardine can any day!!

[@ifer1280]

Oh wow, you got an old one! Haven't seen those in ages

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Super unlucky then!

[@JermoMetGames]

You literally stepped in the worst Virm existing XD From all 4 types curruntly driving around :) But yes I would love the icng review :D

[@plonss]

As a Dutchman (living abroad) I sometimes pity NS. They have some pretty horrible customers, who litter the carriages and leave graffiti on the toilets. As since Covid times the NS struggle with a lack of staff and financial problems, the problem got only worse.

[@rickyspanish4792]

Public transport needs to be nationalized, then these problems don't exist anymore.

[@plonss]

@@rickyspanish4792 I agree

[@npl070]

I noticed a couple of things in your video (apart from the pronounciation). For Amsterdam Centraal you mentioned the trams and metro. The station is also served by many bus routes. The bus station is on the IJ side of the station. Not to foget the externsive ferry system too. You referred to Den Haag as the second capital. Amsterdam is the capital, Den Haag is the seat of government. That does not make it a second capital.

[@seanC3i]

Yeah, I'd like to see a review of the new ICNG trains when they come into service.

[@TaronTT]

They're already in trial service!

[@Furscaped]

There actually are 1/2 next-gen trains that are really new. It's always kind of a gamble really, sometimes you get a 2000's train that has the yellow colour faded, and the other time you get a brand new shiny clean one.

[@stan.rarick8556]

In 1986 I spent a few weeks on the SNCF with a Rural pass, which gave me first class privileges but I preferred Second class because the people were much more interesting

[@GabrielViana-mg3vh]

NS in general is way too expensive for what it offers. Also, the soap dispenser is classic! If you turn the knob it dispenses powered soap.

[@dominikhavel8102]

I love these dispensers! They are so useful! In fact, they work as a grater - there is a bar of soap in it. As you turn the handle, it dispenses soap powder. Much better than disgusting bar soap next to the sink and much easier to maintain than the liquid soap system.

[@TheSuperappelflap]

Its not expensive at all, its one of the cheapest railway services in the world, especially adjusted for purchase power parity. Its also not subsidized by the government so it doesnt run on your tax money like in most other countries.

[@ilannghost6306]

I'm now on vacation with the train and tomorrow i'm going on the train from prague to krakow it's 7 hours on a train. wtf. and i've been on this train and it's so good. also 1 of the most wows i've said on a train ride was from dresden to prague. the hole ride is next to a river and mountains

[@mavadelo]

when I saw the title I knew what it would be about and in a way I agree. It is not just "this example", it is in all trains. Somehow this has been a thing since the 80's. I even would dare to bet money on the fact the new ICNG sets will be defaced within a year (if they haven't been already)

[@johumm455]

The whole Dutch railways train fleet drives on 100% green energy!

[@JesseKuiper]

Mostly. This count for all elelectric trains but there are still some regional trains in the more sparsely populated areas that run on diesel.

[@marten73]

Which is greenwashing bullshit. How do trains keep going if there's no wind or sun?

[@hhuhu6995]

My personal experience with those trains is pretty much the same. I don't know why they are so famous. Every time I used on off them, they were dirty. The tables are flimsy and not really useable. I also found them quite uncomfortable (in second class) and loud. The German Dosto (most of the time Bombardier Twindexx) in comparison are a lot cleaner and more comfortable especially for longer journeys. They also have their downsides like a table that is even less useable than the one in Virm. But overall, I would always try to get another train.

[@aviateedits]

NS operates a wide variety of VIRMs, and has refurbished some multiple times, while others not at all. The brand new refurbished ones, which you can tell because of the new "Flow" livery, are much nicer than the old ones like he is traveling on in this video. It can be a hit or miss

[@Neville60001]

@@aviateedits, it shouldn't be _anything_ *_but_* a hit or a miss, especially with regards to cleanliness.

[@zephyros256]

In regards to the noise aspect. In general, newer designed and built trains are much quieter than older trains, in part due to riders preferring this and it being possible to assign more design space to this. However, it is very difficult to significantly improve the noise of a train set after it has been built, refurbishing isually has only a limited impact. There has been a lot of improvement on that regard on since 1991 when the VIRM was first built (all later desings, VIRM 1 through 4, are built on the same base) and when the Bombardier Twindexx was first built. Also easy to experiemce when riding the much newer SNG and ICNG.

[@ZambiblasianOgre]

Lol, in my experience these trains are anything but loud. They're some of the quietest trains I've ridden on.

[@playerscobongameplay]

YAAAY my favourite dutch train 🥳🥳🥳

[@curtisdaniel9294]

Yeah, that brown graffiti was off putting! 😂❤🎉😊

[@Abnerbandanovotempoinscrito1mi]

Muito lindo trem gostei

[@rogeriomonteiro760]

Mas o autor não gostou!

[@rustinpieces]

You make solid efforts on pronounciation but you're often still some steps away from nailing it. ;-) I must agree that cleanliness and NS just don't go together; and trust me, I've been riding these trains from the mid-70's - they never did. "Absolutely disgusting" is the usual standard. This does have a lot to do with the general mindset/behavior of the people riding these trains - all those people saying The Netherlands is generally such a clean country, either have never been here; or remember their visit way back in the late 1950's.

[@for_wil1262]

Bro is serieus aan het klagen over alles 😂

[@sanderdeboer6034]

Haarlem is NOT the only one of its kind on the Dutch network, Den Haag Holland Spoor looks very similar and is as beautiful.

[@SebastianD334]

I’d highly recommend taking a VIRMm1, they’re much nicer in my experience, they have a nicer interior and exterior, and they also tend to be a bit cleaner inside, but most of the dirtiness comes from the strong staff shortage NS has been facing for quite a few years now

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Hopefully my next ride will be on the newer one! :)

[@PeterApps]

Considering the rest of the Dutch infrastructure, it's surprising NS is not particularly bike friendly. The stations are good, but I struggle to get mine onto intercity trains., because of the steep steps. Luckily, the Dutch are kind people and I always get help, and when I can, I use the Sprinter. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Den Helder, admiring the tulip fields from the top deck.

[@daviddietzen3735]

NS might not be particularly bike-friendly because bikes take up much more space than paying commuters AND because there is a very solid bike rental system OV-fiets in place at stations all across the network. It is intended that passengers use the OV-fiets (or a second-hand bike) at their destination and not eat up valuable commuter space by taking their bike on the train.

[@PeterApps]

@@daviddietzen3735 Agreed, but.I still pay €7.50 for my bike and my comment also applies to anyone who is infirm enough to struggle on stairs.

[@crytocc]

@@PeterApps Accessibility certainly is a real problem here, also on many bus services.

[@kaelon9170]

@@PeterApps It's a function of capacity unfortunately. Steeper stairs means there's more space for an extra row of seats as well as space for standing passengers when the train is packed full. The stairs do have a railing though, does the railing not help you get up them?

[@PeterApps]

@@kaelon9170 An ebike carrying panniers gets heavier and I'm getting older. I can manage but I travelled on a Finnish double decker a couple of weeks ago. No stairs to board though I didn't have a bike, but it was so much easier getting my case on. I like the Sprinter trains because I don't feel as if I'm holding up the train while I struggle.

[@Ouahib]

You should definitely try out the new ICNG in the Netherlands. I guarantee you that you will be blown away by its inside and outside look

[@tonyshield5368]

Good review. I'd like to see included in your vids a comparison of different operators and routes and prices on same/similar journeys - more detail on the differences between this line and the HS line. Travelled beween Amsterdam and Brussels last year on Thalys - are there other options and what are the differences?

[@DJTrainBrain]

I think these are actually the more comfortable VIRM's, seat-wise. The 1st class seats on the refurbished ones have harder cushioning material, especially on the downright uncomfortable Flow sets. Also, fair choice picking the lower deck for the larger windows, but you did miss a common complaint because of that: the train sways a lot from side to side. It's not as noticeable on the lower deck, but it's certainly a tad uncomfortable on the upper deck. I'm really curious as to what you'd think of the ICNG. I seem to hold the unpopular opinion of it still being a glorified regional train (although not a particularly bad one at that). With most of the Dutch audience, they're incredibly popular. But I think it's a step down comfort-wise, compared to the Koploper, especially in second class. The seat backs there are too upright for a long-distance train, the first-class recline is nice but has only two options, and the suspension, while okay, is somewhat stiff and nudgy. So while okay(-ish?), it still feels like they got it somewhat on the cheap to me.

[@MrBlueBurd0451]

I feel it's necessary to point out that despite the fact that the entire Executive and Legislative arms of the Dutch Government are located in Den Haag, it is not considered a capital. Amsterdam is, both culturally and legally, the sole capital of the Netherlands.

[@tamoroso]

Well, I'm sorry to learn about the cleanliness standards (or perhaps more accurately, lack thereof), but much appreciate the trip down memory lane. I grew up in the Netherlands during the 70s, and the trains were one of the best features of that time for me. That price, if slimmed down to 1970 pricing and rendered in Hfl (guilders (technically, Hollandsche florins, hence Hfl), the pre-Euro currency) sounds about what I might have paid for a similar trip back then, and we thought it was pretty reasonable. Especially since your price was the same whether you bought tickets last week or last minute. Solid video; no unnecessary self-aggrandizement (thanks), and no unreasonable complaints. Subscribed (yours is not my usual content, but I try to subscribe to people I think are doing it right regardless).

[@truusjenskens8485]

Try dragging your holiday suitcase up/down those double decker stairs! Mine even won't fit through the glass door....

[@LijmPistool]

0:31 credits to you for pronouncing Amsterdam correctly! :)

[@Brian-zj4mm]

I'm surprised that there isn't any construction going on in the central station in this video :o

[@SeverityOne]

Oh, I wasn't aware that they were that famous outside the Netherlands. What I liked about these, before the pandemic drastically cut passenger numbers, and before they changed the timetable, was that two coupled six car sets would arrive at virtually the same time in both directions at the relatively small station of Weert. 24 cars of double-deck trains is pretty impressive. The cleanliness is a big issue. But I noticed that, after I returned for the first time in three years in December 2022, that public spaces were generally dirty. Schiphol airport, for example.

[@andyguy0610]

One thing I noticed at the start of the video, just how clean the station was. The track bed was clear of any weeds and undergrowth. Go visit a UK station and you will see weeds everywhere, looks awful