NS International

NS International

Fyra high-speed train on a test run in The Hague
Overview
Main region(s):	Netherlands
Route km operated:	426 km[1]
Parent company:	NS
Web site:	www.nsinternational.nl/en
Technical
Track length:	no own tracks

NS International (formerly NS Hispeed) is the rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed train connections to Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris and several other destinations.

NS International is part of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. It currently operates both high-speed and non-high-speed services. Further international semi-high-speed and high-speed services are to be introduced in the near future.

History

NS Hispeed was formed in 2007 when the former international subdivision of NS, NS Internationaal, was rebranded as NS Hispeed. It is a founding member of the Railteam alliance, with a 10% share in the group. In June 2014, they changed their name back to NS International.

Services

Planned services on the HSL-Zuid, including Thalys (bright red) and Fyra (other colours).

NS Hispeed Traxx F140 MS locomotive E186 120 arrives at Brussels-South railway station.

As of December 2007 NS International trains operated over a number of routes both within the Netherlands and across the borders into Germany and Belgium (and on to France). These were:

• High speed train Thalys from Amsterdam via Schiphol, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels to Paris.
• High speed train Fyra from Amsterdam via Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam. The Fyra service is operated by High Speed Alliance, a cooperative of NS (90%) and airline KLM (10%).
• ICE from Amsterdam via Utrecht and Arnhem to Frankfurt, continuing once a day to Basel.
• InterCity from Amsterdam via Schiphol, The Hague, Roosendaal and Antwerp to Brussels.
• InterCity from Schiphol via Amersfoort, Deventer, Hengelo, Bad Bentheim, Osnabrück and Hannover to Berlin, continuing once a day to Szczecin.

Other cross-border services (from Enschede, Maastricht, Nieuweschans, Venlo, Heerlen and Roosendaal) are not part of NS Hispeed, nor is the EuroNight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen / Prague / Warsaw / Minsk / Moscow or the CityNightLine.

Rolling stock

NS Hispeed is the Dutch partner in two high-speed international services, Thalys and ICE International. Although the rolling stock for these services is pooled, each partner has purchased and owns a number of units in each fleet. NS owns four ICE 3M EMUs used for the ICE services, and two PBKA EMUs operated by Thalys, all of which are quadricurrent.

NS Hispeed has ordered sixteen V250 trains from Ansaldobreda, with NMBS ordering a further three sets, which will be used for a third high-speed international service Fyra. Fyra will operate high-speed connections between Amsterdam, Schiphol and Rotterdam and ongoing to Breda and Brussels. These sets will be eight carriages long and have a top speed of 250 km/h. Currently, Fyra only runs between Amsterdam, Schiphol and Rotterdam (since the 4 April also further on to Breda), using hired Bombardier Traxx F140 MS electric locomotives and upgraded ICRm carriages, awaiting the arrival of the new V250 stock.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Built	Notes
			mph	km/h
Series 43000		Electric multiple unit	186	300	2	1997	Used for Thalys service
DBAG Class 406		Electric multiple unit	199	320	4	1999	Used for ICE International service
V250		Electric multiple unit	155	250	16 ordered	2008-2010	Trains were to be used for Fyra, but the order was cancelled in 2013

At the moment, NS International has hired twelve Bombardier Traxx F140 MS electric locomotives from Angel Trains, numbered E186 111 to E186 122,^[2] to use on the 'Benelux' intercities to Belgium Belgian SNCB Class 11 locomotives that were previously used on this service have now been set aside due to their unreliability, with only one spare locomotive still on standby at the Watergraafsmeer emplacement.

See also

• Dutch railway services - Showing NS International services

References

External links

• NS International