A new NS high speed train has just started running from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, running at 200km an hour. Although, adittedly, that doesn’t sounds very fast, trains in the Netherlands usually run at around 130km an hour so it’s a definite step towards the improvement of public transport in the Netherlands.
You can already catch this Intercity Next Generation train, introduced by Dutch National Railways, and it will soon be coming to other cities too. The plan is to replace existing intercity trains with these Next Generation models in the coming years.
It’s estimated that replacing all of the intercity trains will take around seven years, so don’t get too excited yet. Twenty of these new models will operate between Belgium and the Netherlands – a route that has received a lot of attention recently as the Dutch, German and Belgian governments plan a tri state train running from December.
In total, there will be 99 of these new trains and they will eventually replace those that run between Amsterdam and Groningen, Leeuwardan, Amsterdam and Enschede, Den Haag and Eindhoven and Amsterdam to Brussels.
The company itself aknowledges that there could be some teething problems in the coming months with the new trains but they’re hoping that increased passenger capacity and comfort will make it all worth it. So, expect to get from Amsterdam to Rotterdam a little faster if you’re travelling on one of these new trains!