The ICNG has now been officially inspected and a new final phase of the test program can now be started.
There are 99 ICNG trains in the works for the Dutch Railways. These are the newest fast intercity trains with a total of 33.000 seats, made by the French train manufacturer Alstom. The train has been specially adapted for NS, so that it is suitable for running on both the high-speed line (HSL) and the main rail network (HRN). Before a train is allowed to run in the Netherlands, all kinds of admission tests must be carried out and approved by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate after an extensive admission programme. ICNG stands for InterCity New Generation.
“It is an important milestone that the train has passed the inspection. This ensures that we can start a new phase of the test program. The trains that are currently running in the Netherlands are still test trains. As soon as the first train has been delivered and handed over to NS by the manufacturer, they go through another test program and then we can test drive with passengers for the first time. We expect to be able to run in the timetable before this summer. ”
The ICNG has now been officially inspected and a new final phase of the test program can now be started. The ICNG accelerates faster and can reach a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour. That faster acceleration is very nice with many stops in between. The train also has all kinds of conveniences on board, such as WiFi, sockets, a USB connection and comfortable seats. Twenty of the 99 intercity trains are also suitable for rail transport in Belgium, so that the connection to Brussels can be improved. The NS expects to start driving the new intercity in the Netherlands this summer.
“In the first half of this year, NS will start with the third phase of the NS Proefbedrijf. Then the trains will go for the first test run with passengers on board on the Amsterdam – Rotterdam – Breda route. That is important, because only with travelers in the timetable you can really see how the train performs in practice and make further adjustments. Step by step, the new Intercity will then run on more routes. After the Amsterdam – Rotterdam – Breda route (partly over the High Speed Line) follows the The Hague – Rotterdam – Eindhoven route. In the next steps, the ICNG will also travel over the high-speed line from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Antwerp and Brussels and from the direction of Rotterdam via Amsterdam Zuid and Zwolle to Leeuwarden and Groningen”.
Photo middle and top: NS Image Bank.
