NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has released footage of the first completed New Generation Sprinter (SNG) EMU, which is undergoing tests at CAF’s plant in Beasain in northern Spain.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) has never strayed far from controversy in recent years. In January 2013 Fyra high-speed services on HSL South collapsed following the withdrawal of the AnsaldoBreda V250 trains procured specifically for the route. NS, in its High Speed Alliance (HSA) joint venture with KLM, had submitted an unrealistic bid to keep competitors off the route, and amid the disruption caused by the sudden loss of its train fleet, HSA was soon in deep financial trouble. The result was a government bailout and e1bn in unfulfilled obligations from the high-speed concession.

THE European Investment Bank (EIB) and Rotterdam Electric Tram (RET) have signed a €120m loan agreement to support investment in new Bombardier metro trains and to renew signalling and safety systems on the metro network.

NEW Stadler Flirt 3 EMUs entered service with three operators in the Netherlands with the start of the 2017 timetable on December 11.

EXACTLY a year after the COP21 climate conference in Paris, Netherlands Railways (NS) has announced that all electric trains on the Dutch network will operate exclusively using power from renewable sources with effect from January 1 2017, a year earlier than originally envisaged.

The Railsponsible initiative was founded in 2015 with the goal of supporting sustainable practices throughout the railway industry supply chain. Amandine Noureldin from Alstom’s Sustainable Sourcing and Institutional Relations Management team, outlines the initiative’s work so far.

NETHERLANDS Railways (NS) inaugurated a new station at Breda on September 8, which is one of the ‘New Key Projects’ to serve high-speed lines across the Netherlands.

THE first refurbished Netherlands Railways (NS) VIRM double-deck EMU was unveiled at Nedtrain’s Haarlem workshops on August 30.

THE remaining two shortlisted bidders for the West Midlands passenger rail franchise have been invited by the Department of Transport (DfT) to submit bids by November 29 for the new franchise which starts in October 2017.

AFTER several delays, Dutch infrastrucutre manager Prorail opened the new station at Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn on August 23.