Intercity Direct

Intercity Direct route map
Legend
Amsterdam Centraal Schiphol Rotterdam Centraal Breda

Intercity Direct is a high speed train railway within the Netherlands, connecting Amsterdam Central to Schiphol, Rotterdam Central and Breda. Intercity Direct replaced the Fyra brand as of December 2013.

History

The Intercity Direct train service uses the HSL Zuid high-speed railway line which went into service 6 September 2009.^[1] An hourly domestic service branded Fyra by operator NS Hispeed was started on 7 September 2009 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam using TRAXX-locomotives and ICR-carriages. Initially the service was hourly and weekdays only. On 12 April 2010 service expanded to Saturdays and Sundays. As of 4 October 2010, frequency increased to twice hourly. Service was extended to Breda on 3 April 2011.^[2]

An international service also known as Fyra between Amsterdam and Brussels started 9 December 2012 using V250 rolling stock of AnsaldoBreda. From 17 January 2013 this service had to be pulled due to undercarriage damage caused by ice and snow. As of June 2013 international Fyra service has been permanently suspended by both Dutch and Belgian railways.^[3]

Due to the perceived bad reputation of the Fyra brand, the domestic service rebranded into Intercity Direct as of December 2013.^[4]

Services

OV-Chipcard card reader for paying the Intercity Direct supplement

As of 2014, Intercity Direct offers the following services:

• 2 trains per hour: Amsterdam Centraal – Schiphol – Rotterdam Centraal – Breda
• 2 trains per day, peak hours only, weekdays only: Amsterdam Centraal - Schiphol - Rotterdam Centraal

During the evening, the service is reduced to once an hour.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
Class 186 Traxx		Locomotive	100	160	?	Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam - Breda, Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam
ICRm (Prio)		Carriage	100	160	?	Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam - Breda, Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam

A supplement is required for travel on the Intercity Direct for the Schiphol - Rotterdam stretch. As of 2014 single use supplements cost €2.30 regardless of the class.^[5] This supplement can be paid by touching an OV-Chipcard to a "supplement pillar", which can be found on platforms from which Intercity Direct trains depart. These pillars are similar to OV-Chipcard validation machines, containing a red "Toeslag" label. A bi-lingual sign indicates for which train the supplement is required. For journeys between Schiphol and Amsterdam Central, and between Rotterdam Central and Breda, no supplement is required. If the supplement was mistakenly paid, touching an OV-Chipcard to the same device within 30 minutes will cancel the purchase.

References

External links

• Intercity Direct on the NS website
• Public transport route planner