NS orders 79 intercity EMUs from Alstom

[Densha]

NS orders 79 intercity EMUs from Alstom

 

NS concluded a contract worth more than €800m with Alstom on July 15 for 79 single-deck InterCity New Generation (ICNG) EMUs after a court rejected a legal challenge from Siemens.

 

The order for the 200km/h trains, which will be equipped for operation on both the conventional network and the HSL South high-speed line, comprises 49 five-car and 30 eight-car sets based on Alstom's Coradia platform.

 

The trains are due to be introduced in 2021, initially on Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Breda services via HSL South, operating under 25kV AC electrification on the high-speed line and the standard Dutch 1.5kV DC system on the conventional network. The trains will also be equipped with ETCS Level 2.

 

The new rolling stock will later be introduced on The Hague Central - Eindhoven intercity services, operating via the Rotterdam- Breda section of HSL South. The new trains will replace the 160 km/h multi-system Traxx locomotives and ICR coaching stock currently used on these services. It is also anticipated that the delivery of the ICNG fleet will enable the withdrawal of ICM EMUs and ICR coaches currently used on domestic intercity services on the conventional network.

 

The contract includes options for additional trains, including a variant equipped to operate on the Belgian 3kV DC electrification system.

 

Source: http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/ns-orders-79-inter-city-emus-from-alstom.html

 

The ICNG will be the indirect replacement of the infamous AnsaldoBreda V250 high speed trains. As the IRJ article already mentions, the ICNG will initially run on domestic services the V250 was supposed to run on. Considering that there is an option for a 3kV DC subvariant, there's a huge chance they will also eventually replace the Traxx locos and ICR coaches now used on the international Amsterdam - Brussels intercity service. The latter won't be happening before at least 2025 though.

 

Considering the artist impressions, the ICNG is most likely based off Alstom's Coradia Liner V200.

 

Here is the original Dutch source by NS, including a higher resolution artist impression: http://nieuws.ns.nl/ns-en-alstom-sluiten-contract-over-levering-van-79-snelle-intercitys/

[Kabutoni]

Finally some sensibility.