The Netherlands’ WEIRDLY-SHAPED Double-Decker Intercity Train, The NS VIRM!

[@DeeZedEx]

Intercity frequency between Utrecht and Amsterdam CS is 6 times an hour in rush hour, not 2. There is also 6 intercity trains an hour going to Amsterdam zuid. Total intercity frequency between the cities is more like 12 trains an hour per direction. Between the cities there are quad tracks so there are also services that stop at every station.

[@vincentstuer]

He is not wrong either, it is intercities coming from many different places and the specific train he had runs every half hour

[@lexus1098r]

​​@@vincentstuerhat's not what meant though. 6 is the correct number. Funny however he seems to think that a frequency of 2 per hour is sufficient. For someone regularly travelling this route I wholeheartedly disagree 😂

[@vincentstuer]

@@lexus1098r what I ment is that along the corridor there are not 6 trains an hour only running between Utrecht and Amsterdam, they come from Limburg and the east of the country and then go to Holland

[@JasperJanssen]

@@vincentstueryes, but the whole *point* of how these lines are arranged is that the Utrecht/Amsterdam leg is being run by several different services and is therefore much more frequent than the services on outlying lines. This is not unlike the London Underground, to give a random example, where several of the lines have branches on one or both ends. But you still wouldn’t say that there are services every twenty minutes between baker street and aldgate, when there are also simultaneously services running from the other three branch ends on that same central section of track.

[@pjotrh]

Regarding the graffiti. It’s a lot worse atm than it used to be. Due to corona, they got a bit behind on maintenance, there’s some delays of the new icng stock, and a personnel shortage leading to problems with driving spare (and even non spare) trains around. This is causing some stock to be driving around that normally would have been rotated out for cleaning. Additionally, when a soccer match is coming up, they might choose to run a more beat up train.

[@Lunavii_Cellest]

the frequentie between Eindhoven-'s-Hertogenbosch-Utecht-Amsterdam is every 10 minutes as there are 3 lines (Venlo-Schiphol, Maastricht-Alkmaar and Heerlen-Enkhuizen) running on this corridor and it is planned so that between Eindhoven and Amsterdam there will be a train every 10 minutes.

[@jgowner6076]

You did get the oldest virm that hasn't been refurbished yet. Most of them are loads better.

[@AviatorMinion]

indeed

[@JasperJanssen]

If it doesn’t have orange seats, it’s not an old train, and you can’t tell me otherwise.

[@TwanAardappelpan]

Nice video m8! The blue locomotive is a 3D-model of one drawn by Dick Bruna, who created Miffy and was born in Utrecht :)

[@OMtheRails]

Many thanks for your comments and for the confirmation, was wondering what that was! 😁

[@pjotrh]

It also doubles as one of the meeting points on the train station. As the place is so big, ppl often tend to get confused about where in the hall they are (esp when coming up from the platforms). A few distinct places were created to help ppl get their bearings and help u find eachother if ur meeting up with someone.

[@martijn_sch]

Between 2011 and 2016 the Utrecht central station and the shopping mall where renovated. After that both are seperated from each other. There is a station square now in the middle. The biggest bicycle storage of the world is below this square. But nice video anyway. Greetings form Utrecht!

[@ageoflove1980]

Fun fact: Along the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, right around 07:45 in your video you pass the small unassuming town of Breukelen. This quiet rural town however is what the New York City borough of Brooklyn is named after.

[@ReiniervdLeer]

"Extremely overcrowded" is an overstatement. It was somewhat crowded, yes, but there were still unoccupied seats. Some people just prefer standing to asking for a seat.

[@dennyroozeboom4795]

The train sculpture is in the art style of a Dutch character called Nimphy in English(Nijntje in Dutch). It is significant to Utrecht because that’s where the artist comes from. Thru out the city there’re little references to the character.

[@ReiniervdLeer]

Miffy* :)

[@Ipuffyy]

I feel bad that you were on a old VIRM 2/3 set. The new one would have been a lot better, considering the cleanness and the comfort as well as that award winning leg space.

[@fredr6557]

I'm not really sure what you mean with the chaotic boarding process? It's quite simple and efficient: those wanting to enter the train wait (on both sides) of the door letting passengers to disembark first. When everybody's out, people embark. And in rush hour there is a bit of squeezing to get in first in order to obtain one of the scarse seats. Do you think there is a faster way?

[@flower_power]

Boarding is always chaotic. Dutch don't queue.

[@passantNL]

I was honestly wondering why he called it chaotic. I used this train several times a week for 5 years and this didn't seem chaotic at all. It's much worse during rush hour.

[@melaniedrogr951]

Actually the maximum speed is 200km/h on the utrecht amsterdam line for the outer (fast) tracks, while it is 160 km/h for the inner tracks. However ATB, the current train security system is only designed for 140 km/h. ETCS is installed on the tracks, allowing the higher speeds, but most trains do not have ETCS, so for the moment ATB is used as a security system (NS signed a contract with siemens to install ETCS on all trains by 2028, except the ones scheduled to be replaced before then).

[@Sector8]

Even with ETCS all NS trains except ICNG will not drive faster then 160 km/h.

[@melaniedrogr951]

@@Sector8 yep,l. But to be fair even with 120km/h the train only needs 16 minutes from utrect centraal to amsterdam bijlmer (the 200km/h section ends there) and accelerating at those speeds is very very slow with the dutch 1500V overhead wires. Even with 25kV overhead wires you would save 5 minutes tops but would have to spend billions to reinforce the ground below the tracks (who already cant handle trains going 140) and to switch the overhead voltage.

[@Sector8]

@@melaniedrogr951 I completely agree with you, the investment needed for this is not worth it.

[@kroketrompet]

About the steam locomotive statue: it is meant to honor Dick Bruna, the artist who came up with Miffy. He was from Utrecht.

[@vincentstuer]

You can even see the character in the "windows"

[@madeinbelgie7710]

The speed limit is still 140 kph, but it's designed for 160 kph, and the outer two tracks are designed for 200 kph. But we can't reach those speeds yet due to the signaling system. And train protection system (still waiting for ertms) a traindriver from the netherlands

[@henkbangma3015]

In another comment it was said that the outer tracks are designed for 200kph. And there is more logic to that as those are the tracks that are used for the intercities.

[@madeinbelgie7710]

@@henkbangma3015yes its my mistake ive read it wrong in my company notes. But due to the speedlimit still being 140 intercity's use the inner tracks as well. Ive had that happend mutiple times.

[@jaccovermeulen2762]

you are about Hoog Catharijne, the mall used to be linked up with Utrecht Centraal but are now decoupled since about 4 years.

[@chrislaarman7532]

In addition to the preceding comments: 1) The (now) VIRM stock hadn't been designed for long-distance Intercity services. It started out as InterRegio Materieel ("materieel": "rolling stock"), probably to be translated as "semi-fast stock" in British English. The "Koplopers" (play on words, referring to the soon removed passage above the couplings) are the "real" Intercity stock, as are the coaches derived from it that now run sandwiched between Traxx locos. All these are about to be replaced by Alstom Coradia EMUs (Dutch reference: "ICNG"). However, you're right in observing that the VIRM sets dominate services calling at Amsterdam Centraal. And there are the "DDZ" 4- and 6-car Intercity sets converted from "stopping train" sets. 2) I disagree with you on the comfort of the VIRM sets. They seem rather sensitive to the state of the very track. Last december, I got slammed against the outside of the train while about to leave the toilet, and moments later I got thrusted into somebody, the toilet door almost catapulting me against him. (That was approaching Utrecht from Bunnik.) I'm curious if "sea legs" are still needed between Culemborg en Geldermalsen. I intend to find out soon. 3) The thyristor noise I saw mentioned surely was an overtones concerto, but the sound level has soon been greatly reduced. 4) We Dutch aren't too good at waiting when a public transport vehicle arrives, but we aren't good at leaving those vehicles either. ("Oh, have we arrived? Now let's see. Any new messages on my smartphone?" - I'm notably talking Amsterdam ferries here.)

[@maartendekleine4905]

The swaying feeling is much worse on the balconies (above the bogeys) compared to in the low and high seating compartements imo. Though you can still feel a bit of sway due to the wagon length and height, but i personally don't find it too bad in there

[@KajiRider1997]

The dick bruna train is really nostalgic. I remember it from the miffy books our teacher used to read to us in kindergarten. And the Day Care had wooden toys what we used to throw at each other (mostly the bullies to us)

[@AviatorMinion]

The VIRM is one of the second most icon train, VIRM is mostly meant for intercity services, the Toilets however always been an major problem due to the teenage gang.. In terms of serving stations suchs as Schiphol Airport it is normal that there aren't that many luggage because almost every train in NS fleet comes through or stops at Schiphol and when we do instal those things, they aren't used because we as Dutches like to keep over eyes pilled and just keep carring it around.. and the last thing crowded and chaos loading well that just the Dutches, this has always been like this and won't change anytime soon..

[@rbleisem]

New version has bad seats, to ramrod straight backs. But that's often a problem with the latest seating upgrades of the older seats. It's funny, that how older the train interior, the better the seats. Some old (museum) train wagons, have better seating then the new & improved seats and I'm talking old wooden third class, here. It's all in the shape & material choices.

[@bartrazin]

Great stuff! First off, i like the VIRM but we are Dutch so complain we will! I took a ride on these trains when they were brand new(in between Dordrecht,my hometown now,and Roosendaal). They soon got the nickname¨de Doedelzak¨for obvious reasons(Itś the sound the trains produces when it is departing,it was very audible in the first IRM units). Living in Dordrecht i see the VIRM on a daily basis, almost all intercity services starting or stopping here are VIRM´s.

[@cpt.skydiver]

Medium sized luggage will also fit between the back-to-back seats. That's where I usually put it anyway.

[@henkbangma3015]

Why weirdly shaped? I think it is beautiful! The colouring makes it look like a Caterpillar. 😊

[@Sophiebryson510]

The uk needs some double decker trains

[@digitallifeline162]

Would our bridges and tunnels be high enough???

[@171trains]

We had a stint at double decker trains, I believe around the 50s or 60s? They operated from Charing Cross to South East London I think, but were very cramped due to height restrictions and were withdrawn prematurely

[@ashleyjiscool]

@@171trainsthey lived for a long time for being non standard

[@joslauwers7960]

The Blue Locomotif is out of the drawings of Dick Bruna author of Nijntje / Miffy children's books

[@MLWitteman]

And the author was from Utrecht. So his works are more or less the mascot of the city of Utrecht.

[@wasted-blaster.]

I like the look of those trains I think they look very smart indeed.

[@huugdekoning]

Monday to Friday 7 AM to 7 PM there is an intercity service between Utrecht and Amsterdam every 10 minutes.

[@rusty6128]

2:02 do NOT do this anymore, since recently you're able to check in using your phone bank card too. If you have a train ticket use it seperately from your phone otherwise you might be charged twice

[@JasperJanssen]

Your phone isn’t going to do a bank card payment without you triggering it just because it’s held next to a bank terminal (although you can see the phone screen changing, probably to ask whether he wants to pay). This is a problem with actual bank cards, who don’t ask beforehand, they just pay, not with phones.

[@rusty6128]

@@JasperJanssen There are phones that do payments if you hold them close enough on their own without you needing to confirm, bud of mine had this issue 2 weeks back

[@JasperJanssen]

@@rusty6128 yikes.

[@justshe_6618]

So cool bro

[@fnaaijkens69]

The significance of the Blue Locomotive is the work of Dick Bruna, who was a simplification master in condensing concepts in the simplest of texts and images. All children used to grow up with his books, the first being Book Without Words, which is of course the best of all: No Words. To help children age 0.9 and up to "read" ;-) hahahaha. To celebrate this in a train station is typically Dutch and together with the works of Annie M G Schmidt, epitomises the cozy, openminded but yet nice, fairly closed society that The Netherlands was, all the way up to the 1970s and even 1980s.

[@rckoenes]

To add to this Dick Bruna of Nijntje (Miffy) fame was born and lived in Utrecht. That is why the train is there.

[@mikestephens5622]

Lovely video showing those extraordinarily electric banana trains, with plenty of good info too.

[@bowie545]

i am dutch and i will say that the dubbel deker tou were on is a virm 4 we also have newer ones that are far more comfertble the how do you tell the older units have a blue stripe that goes high and the newer ones have a stripe down we also have a even newer one that you can instantly tell are different they are more pretty outside and inside and the 2nd class is really ggod but the 1st class is not worth it unlike on the one with stripe down

[@JasperJanssen]

The locomotive is a 3D representation of a drawing from Dick Bruna’s children’s book series “Nijntje”, which you may know as Miffy.

[@random27]

A bit late to the party, but you didnt mention the elevators. They are designed for the coffee cart (railtender) which aren't used anymore

[@stijnVDA1994]

The updated livery isn't correct, that was simply a commercial stunt series, a lot of the interiors have been updated but they only have been washed nothing else really

[@trainsandmodelshungary]

Great video! Weird shape tho, totally agree!

[@Bobmcjoepants]

We have double decker trains here in Toronto (Canada) and its definitely better than having extra cars. Plenty of space, plus the top level is a "quiet zone" during certain times so it's not too noisy

[@Rikehen]

There are certain 'Quiet zone's' oboard, But keep in mind the trains in Canada drive way longer and fewer, compared to a four hour journey to get basically anywhere.

[@DannyMNL]

The original livery with the grey cab was amazing, it followed every curve perfectly. The new livery is utter crap. It was probably designed by some overpaid "artist" who didn't even care about the shape of the train and just imported a 2D outline in illustrator and drew some lines on that, completely ignoring how it would look in 3D.

[@Marco_franceschini]

totally agree, plus make the NS logo bigger...

[@karegnal]

Yep, the new Flow-design on the VIRM is not the smartest livery. Putting the yellow higher on the side of the train to a part that is always dirty: great; a scrambled logo: lovely. Well, no.

[@vd89198]

That was a pretty old train u got

[@ArthurKLMaviation]

There is also a flow virm which is way newer its form 2021

[@ivardewit]

you should do a video with the new sprinter(goes tro all stations) SNG (the white with blue and the yellow front)

[@ivardewit]

PS SNG means sprinter nieuwe generatie, sprinter new generation

[@MrYoTambor]

new trains also have sockets near the seats and wifi in the netherlands .

[@ktipuss]

Curious thing: Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, but the seat of government is The Hague. I would not have thought that The Netherlands was big enough in area to warrant two-class travel on its intercity trains.

[@LordBrettSinclair100]

Believe it or not, but you can travel distances up to 5 or 6 hours by train in the Netherlands. And during commute hours you will have more chance of a seat.

[@BIGV710]

try the benelux ticket valid in holland/belguim/luxembourg

[@OMtheRails]

Definitely on my list for next time, thanks!

[@TeamWolfmountain]

The VIRM is unique theres no comparison to it

[@Skippersboss__]

It's design is the result of NS at the time decided to have a focus group have a say in how a new"Intra Regiomaterieel" should look. They locked up a group consistent of train builders NS staff and customers somewhere in the country for a weekend to have a think what a new train should look like. I have been told the train builders at the time protested at almost every idea put on the table but still they managed to come with the VIRM

[@ozbolli]

We used to get this type from Schiphol I'm sure

[@ozbolli]

Oh I now I know I was right after 10.50 haha

[@genuinepetermorgan]

01:21 Park Plaza spot

[@OMtheRails]

The place to be my friend!

[@mikefish8226]

On the boarding, the Dutch are great people but they are incapable of queuing properly for buses and trains.

[@RobbertsTravelGuides]

Hey mate Personally i live between the Netherlands and Switzerland and in my opinion there is miles and miles of a difference between the two. Worse for the netherlands in this case. The netherlands tend to be very very incompetent. They failed with NS HiSpeed with the Fyra V250 sets. eventhough they could have ordered TGV EuroDuplex sets or TGV Sets in general. Or they could have ordered different trains. but they tried to solve it with an Stoptrain aka the Alstom Coradia Stream. wich yes runs at 200 Km/h but its a stoptrain and not a true Highspeed train they could have ordered at Stadler the RABe 501 trainsets aka Giruno. they are barrier free they are quick, drive 250 km/h and are multisystem available. and for doubledecker sets they could have ordered the Bombardier RABe / RABDe 502 trainsets aka the Twindexx. pretty good train its spacious and has alot of place. ( though its not so high quality ) But they went again with the cheapest of the cheapest. And dont get me started on the SNG. wich is the worst train the netherlands has. its uncomfortable. its loud. its too much plastic. terrible quality, Unsafe. and the list goes on. its the biggest pile of steaming shit i have ever seen. VIRM( VIRMm1/2 ) are outdated. not Wheelchairfriendly. aswell as ICMm and DDZ trainsets. the whole trainsets are outdated and uncomfortable. The netherlands is truely terrible And they only drive 140 Km/h wich is a joke in itself. Yes iam highly critical of the netherlands and the stupid things the ILT and State make. Who comes on the idea to put Bombardier TRAXX locomotives on a HSL road. yes only imbiciles can do that. But im happy i can relax in switzerland and enjoy comfort and safety.

[@1336mg]

Thank you for all your compliments. Due to the messing up from the Italian builder AnsaldoBredano, each trainset was different under the hood, so maintanence for every trainset would have been different. Than after some rides strips cam off, doors came from the hinge, fire in a battery. Not really a fault of NS but from the builder. AnsaldoBreda sold something they werent capable of making. They were designed for 220 km/h so NS didnt want them. And than they said, Oh Yes we can make them going 250 km/h. Hence the price, they were half the price of a of a TGV. Duplex would have been noncence, because they are not allowed on Belgian network due to their weight. And the main reason for these trainsets was Amsterdam-Brussels. Due to the smal country and short distances trains going faster than 200 km/h will only bring 2 or 3 minutes less in time of a trip on the highspeed line. In Switzerland the state subsidises the SBB. In 2019 for €4.500.000.000! Passenger income at the SBB covered only 45% of the costs, despite the sky-high rates. This is partly because the occupancy rate of the trains was a only 28%. No such thing for NS. They have to do it thereselves. No subsidy. Occupancy at the moment is around 40%. As you can see its comparing appels with oranges.

[@zephyros256]

@@1336mg To add, the rail speed is only 140 km/h due to the ground and used safety system. Switzerland has a nice sturdy and rocky bedrock for the tracks to be supported by. No matter how heavy and fast the trains goes, most sections can easily handle the vibrations and forces. This is different in the Netherlands where the ground largely consists of peat soils with a high water level, which acts like mud when the forces and vibrations get high enough and requiring extensive supporting works for high speeds (one of the reasons the high speed line between Amsterdam and The Hague was very expensive and essentially consists of a large concrete box). If the Netherlands had Swiss ground, it would also have a higher average track speed (apparently most intercity lines Switzerland only going once an hour is not a joke to OP). The Safety system as originally introduces (ATB) has a max of 140km/h, later some sections were upgraded to ATB+ allowing 160km/h (for example between Amsterdam and Schiphol). Currently works are ongoing to (prepare and) switch the entire system to ERTMS which allows for more granular speed limits and (afaik) floating safety blocks.

[@Sector8]

the fact that you are complaining about the 140 km/h tells me enough about your knowledge on how things actually work here. But its easy to bash on things when you have no idea what you are talking about xD

[@jefwisse1957]

Thanks to politics, vandalism has only increased in recent years. Many underprivileged young people believe they can make a statement by applying graffiti. Much has to do with the fact that young people can obtain income far too easily without making any effort. The mentality of the younger generation is bad. The police are hampered in their work because they are understaffed and because young people no longer respect the authorities. In the past old trains were used for the transport of misbehaving people especially football hooligans. In my opinion, trains should be equipped with cameras to make it easier to identify vandals. Unfortunately, we have to deal with privacy legislation that imposes restrictions.

[@ducky_the_helper]

All of these double deck electric trains have the four 1968 Tulloch prototype double deck power cars to thank for pioneering the layout which can be seen in all double deck EMUs to this day

[@henkbangma3015]

Tip: Maybe you should mention the train number like 9597. So one can check on nl.wikipedia.org which train you were on. But thanks for the video!

[@marcusfranconium3392]

worst part of this type of train , the thyristors whinding up when the train starts moving .

[@kai4824]

NS liked it so much that they put it also in the new ICNG 8)