Netherlands - New Fyra high speed ( 250 KMper hr) trains to link Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Brussels - Paris

EU-Digest

Netherlands - New Fyra high speed ( 250 KMper hr) trains to link Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Brussels - Paris

The high-speed train that travels at up to 250 km/h will go into service on the Amsterdam –Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Rotterdam – Antwerp – Brussels and Amsterdam – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Rotterdam – Breda route. The high-speed trains will be built by AnsaldoBreda in Italy. The test runs of the prototype train will start on the HSL-South in the Netherlands and the L4 high-speed line in Belgium. NS(Dutch Rail) Hispeed has ordered 16 Fryda trains.

With the new trains, the journey from Amsterdam to Brussels will take just 1 hour 46 minutes, from Amsterdam to Rotterdam – 36 minutes, Rotterdam to Paris – 2.5 hours and the journey from Rotterdam to Schiphol will take 20 minutes. NS (Dutch Rail) Hispeed will begin service on the HSL-Zuid even before the Fyra has completed its testing programme. Starting in the autumn of 2009, Traxx locomotives pulling Intercity carriages are expected to be running under the name of Fyra on the HSL-Zuid at a speed of 160 km/h. These Traxx trains will be replaced by Fyra high-speed trains that travel at 250 km/h as soon as the testing program has been completed.

NS (Dutch Rail) Hispeed is the operating name of High Speed Alliance, which is owned 90% by NS and 10% by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. NS Hispeed will be a Dutch umbrella brand for high speed train operations, including Thalys, ICE International, TGV, Eurostar and Fyra. NS Hispeed expects to carry 26·4 million passengers in 2011. Around 18·4 million of these will be on domestic services, including a 35% share of the Amsterdam - Rotterdam market.