- NS Hispeed
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NS Hispeed 
Fyra high-speed train on a test run in The HagueInfo Main region(s): Netherlands Route km operated: 426 km[1] Parent company: NS Web site: www.nshispeed.nl/en Technical Track length: no own tracks NS Hispeed is the rail operator in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed train connections as well as national high-speed trains over the HSL-Zuid high speed line, which are branded as Fyra.
NS Hispeed is part of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. It currently operates both high-speed and non-high-speed services. Further domestic and international semi-high-speed and high-speed services are to be introduced in the near future.
Contents
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.
Services
Main article: Dutch_railway_services#NS_Hispeed/International
Planned services on the HSL-Zuid, including Thalys (bright red) and Fyra (other colours).
As of December 2007, NS Hispeed trains operate over a number of routes both within the Netherlands and across the borders into Germany and Belgium (and on to France). These are:
- 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, which is 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 4th of 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 (planned) 2008-2010 Will be used for Fyra service At the moment, NS Hispeed 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 Hispeed services
References
- ^ Amsterdam-Emmerich border, 115 km; high-speed line Schiphol-Antwerpen, 147 km; Amsterdam-Leiden-Rotterdam-Roosendaal, ? km; Amsterdam-Apeldoorn-Deventer-Almelo-Bad Bentheim border, 88+15+38+33 km.
- ^ "Angel Trains Cargo E186 series". Railcolor.net - Modern Locomotive Power. http://www.railcolor.net/index.php?nav=1405128&lang=1. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
External links
Categories:- Nederlandse Spoorwegen
- Railway companies of the Netherlands
- Railteam
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