The UNIQUE Dutch 'Koploper' Train Review - Rotterdam to Amersfoort
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- MORE TRAIN JOURNEYS HERE: / superalbstravels
Hello, and welcome back to another video, where today we are going to be taking a ride on the Netherlands' unique and strange train - the NS ICM or 'Koploper' to use its nickname.
I'll be showing the Second Class experience on a short ride from Rotterdam to Amersfoort on this strangely shaped unit, on the Dutch Railways' national operator - Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
Enjoy!
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Journey Details:
Origin: Rotterdam Centraal
Destination: Amersfoort Centraal
Company: Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)
Train: NS ICM (Intercity Materieel) 'Koploper'
Accommodation: Second Class Seat (2nd)
Distance: 48 miles / 77 kilometres
Price: €15.50 (£13.10 / $16.30)
Time: 57m - 1E
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During my 23 years working on the train as conductor, which is NOT the driver (we call him / her machinist) I've worked many times on the "Koploper". The intern name at the NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen or Dutch Railways) for the Koploper was ICM or Intercity Materieel. One could walk trough the connection underneat the coupled cabins to go to the other part of the train. The 2127 was the train consisting of koplopers from Amsterdam to Vlissingen, which crashed on 30 november 1992 in Hoofddorp, just after Schiphol, resulting in five deads and more than 30 wounded. I was conductor of that train. It almost ended my career as conductor. Took me four years to become my same old laughing self again.
Wow wat een verhaal. Respect!
Vervelend dat het ongeval jou als persoon zoveel heeft gekost. Fijn dat het weer goed gaat en het beste.
Not often to see those personal story's shares here. I feel with you.
Jij kon er niks aan doen dat de machinist veel te snel door de werkzaamheden reed.
That's something I can imagine mr. van Veen. Must have been a horrible experience.
There's one positive side to it though, this time the NS was ready for it unlike the train crash in 1963 in Harmelen.
That terribly lethal accident happened just 18 years after the war and there was nothing. No cranes, no hydraulic equipment, not even acetylene cutting torches.
I know that because my father had just bought the old gas factory in Utrecht to cut it to pieces and sell the steel as scrap metal to the Hoogovens in Velsen which was in high demand for scrap metal during the rebuild of the totally destroyed infrastructure the Nazis left us with after the German defeat.
The moment my father heard about the accident, he scrambled his personnel, loaded all torches, oxygen and acetylene cylinders on a heavy truck and went off to Harmelen where his expertise and tools were highly appreciated by the desperate rescue workers who simply did not have any proper equipment to free both the living and later on the dead from the crushed train wrecks by cutting them to pieces. (the train wrecks that is)
I was only three years old back then so I don't have vivid memories but the story was told over and over again within the family, Something my father couldn't really appreciate given his modest nature.
"Everybody would had done the same," he always told us.
I like how he’s talking about this train like it’s an international 10 hour trip “get there on time before the trains departure”, “unfortunately no catering onboard”
Well, many tourists probably have a hard time comprehending how small the country is ánd how many trains there are. I see it everyday at Schiphol: tourists just bought their tickets, make their way down to the platforms, but then see a train to Amsterdam CS waiting. Then they go into full panic mode: They HAVE to get that train, no matter what. It frequently leads to delays as they just keep boarding even though the conductor has blown it's whistle multiple times. But instead of mentioning how many trains there are to Amsterdam CS, Amsterdam Zuid en Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena at the ticket-machines or so, they don't inform travellers at all, and thus they are scared to miss their train.
Recently, on a day with massive delays, two trains to Amsterdam CS appeared at the same time at both sides of the platform. You should've seen the looks on those tourists' faces ;)
In the 90s we used to have katering, would always get a tea and a twix
In Portugal you have many intercity's journeys that cover similar distances but they do have catering. It's a bit of a shame there isn't even a simple vending machine on board, especially if you're on a train from Rotterdam to Groningen for instance.
I didn't realize that had gotten rid of the rail catering. I liked it, but, it really wasn't necessary. Still, it's an odd decision.
@@KajiRider1997 rail catering was still a thing at least up to 2018 but only on the most busiest tracks. I loved that if you bought a powerbank for your mobile you could always swap a empty one for a new charged one for free.
I can appreciate your efforts to try to pronounce Dutch words as good as possibly.
It sets you apart in a good way.
Thank you. Glad you appreciate it. :)
Only thing is, not all Dutch letter S's sound like sh. In fact very few do. Not shpoorwegen but spoorwegen. Not Amershfoort but Amersfoort. Appreciate the effort though!
@@pafee-etndoitgsest-thaette5284
Please never ask him to pronounce your name, Pafee.
He'll probably end up with a knot in his tongue. ^!^
@superalbs Goed bezig kerel
He does this with all languages. I was impressed by the same thing when he did the Romanian train review.
If you mention Dutch railways, talk about the colours. Scientists took a while to get a yellow paint that would still look quite good even when dirty. I love how our trains stand out in the landscape.
He didnt do his homework..only complaing
@@wolfgangschoonderwal5791 Helemaal niet man, hij had een paar klagen maar dat was het
@@wolfgangschoonderwal5791 Like a real dutchmen
@@MrBlackspoon yeah🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@wolfgangschoonderwal5791 ….everybody gangster till Wolfgang enters the chat .
4:38, i'd like to point out that it isn't a "cup holder bracket" it's a Paper clamp. the design in as stated from the 1970's after catering had been removed from railway service, back then it was verry common for people to do paper work on transport.
It’s interesting to see the use if the NS trains from the perspective of a more “touristy” use.
Things like the price, the comfort or not being able to reserve a seat, are things we mostly don’t notice, since the train is for many just a mean of commuting.
Actually over seat reservations, when the NS decided to introduce the Fyra and cut the Intercity Brussels service, Dutch and Belgium users alike where complaining that the new service would require seat and time reservations, I guess we are okay of giving up some things for the flexibility of just showing up at the station and taking the best next connection.
I dunno, as someone who stopped commuting by train about 4 years ago I sure noticed a hefty price hike when I randomly decided to take a train last week. Rates were considerably lower when I took the daily train, even for infrequent and longer-distance trips. I was also really disappointed how no mention was made of the option to buy a month-long unlimited weekend travel pass for only slightly more than the two single tickets the website offered me. There is no way a tourist or elderly person is going to figure that out.
@@Demonomania87 "There is no way a tourist or elderly person is going to figure that out." - That might be the point - don't scare the commuters towards the cars, but make money on the infrequent travelers.
@@Demonomania87 Yes. It's an absolute crime. And they fucking wonder why nobody is taking public transport anymore.
@@theothertonydutch By far the largest contributor to this was covid, which halved train passengers. 2020's only saving grace was the first 2-3 months, because covid hadn't struck yet. And even with that, 2021 saw more train passengers despite having restrictions during the entire year. The ticket prices are ridiculous for sure, but that's definitely not the leading cause of the bad numbers in the past 2 years.
@@theothertonydutch Nobody is taking public transport anymore? That's just not true
You shouldn't look into this specific service from the eyes of a tourist, but rather the eyes of the frequent user.
The Dutch Railways, unlike many other countries, is mainly used by frequent daily travelers, thus pricing for those travelers is much different from infrequent users.
It's really easy to get 40% off your ticket for example if you get a 50 euro a year discount card. You can also get cheap all-year subscriptions and there are many other ways to pay less than what you did. As long as you know the system. :)
Besides that, the state of the train is so poor because these are old trains that are slowly being replaced. I do think the NS isn't investing much into these trains anymore when it comes to keeping the interior nice.
It's just 15 years of wear and tear and abuse. They would be in line for a refurbishment now if they wherent replaced.
So this is basicly as bad as you ever going to find trains.
The best way for infrequent train riders is their flex system, if you want to travel around a bit you can get a unlimited weekend card, its 1 month of free travels on weekends by any train in the country for 31 euros.
that means if he already paid 15 for this one, he would be on break even on the way back, and any other trips are free.
this opens you up to travel 4 free days on a 10 day trip (plus friday in, monday out often gives quite reasonable prices for flight tickets)
yeah, and students get to travel for free! it was a very interesting video tho, i have never looked at it from a tourists perspective
Regular ICM commuter here, nice to see you reviewing this good ol' Koploper! The seats indeed look a bit cracked up but I personally still find them to be more comfortable than the better-looking seats on other conventional intercity rolling stock (VIRM and DDZ). Graffiti is indeed a huge problem on these trains, especially on the toilets. But I've never in my life encountered the broken trashbin you showed, so I guess you got unlucky there ;)
Looking forward to more trip reports from the Benelux!
Must have been unfortunate then! More will be coming in the future. :)
Honestly, I really dislike the interior design of the Dutch intercity stock. It feels so cold and clinical - something you would expect on a short-distance commuter train. The floor covering does help a bit in making the interior more 'cozy', but other than that it's just all clean white and saturated blue. It's just not inviting at all. Intercity trains in Germany, Denmark and Sweden are much more visually pleasant and have a much nicer atmosphere. It's particularly a shame with the ICNG trains.
Interestingly, I've seen the same trend in some modern Japanese Limited Expresses (long-distance trains), where the train is often very bright and white, looking almost clinical, while the old trains are often more pleasant and inviting in terms of interior.
@@wasmic5z This is very true, but is not illogical if you consider the function of these trains. Due to the density of cities in the Netherlands, even the intercity trains don't run that far. Often passengers are only on the trains for 30 min to an hour. The total schedueled duration of full trips on these trains never exceeds 4 hours. They are therefore somewhat comparable to some commuter train systems in other countries.
@@wasmic5z they basically *are* short distance commuter trains, though. Even this journey, which was a relatively long one touching three major cities and a few minor stations, was under an hour.
A bigger issue is the overall lack of toilets and the shitty power plug socket (random overhead (!) locations and only in 1st class?) situation. The three-car sets have just the one toilet which can be out of order. Not really acceptable for trains travelling up to 3.5 hour routes that you pay so much for.
The price of 15,50 euro is valid for all hours, also in peak hours. With a card costing 60 euro for a year you can get 40% reduction on all non-peak traveling. This ride would be 9,30 euro than, which is more reasonable.
That discount card ("Dal Voordeel") is also available for 5 euros a month, and you'd get a free OV-chipkaart smartcard with it, which usually costs €7.50 alone. Therefore a pretty good deal even for tourists making only one or two journeys, though it is not advertised much. (I'm not certain if you need a home address in the Netherlands to receive it, though.)
@@daviddietzen3735 Yeah, you do last time I checked.
@@bomcabedal Nope, ordered a Flex Weekend Vrij yesterday and I could have it delivered to my address in Poland. What is needed however, is payment with iDeal, meaning a Dutch bank account is required.
@@podr0znik1 Yeah, that sounds like NS...
Yeah, anyone that travels on the train regularly has the discount card. The "high" price is more for tourist and the occasional traveler, which honestly I think is a reasonable trade off. Ride often? Invest a little bit and get the discount, only travel once in a while pay the higher price to balance things out.
I am very proud of the NS Nederlandse Spoorwegen, I love the train, I worked for 41 years at this company, not 1 day a dull moment. I do hope that good people in charge will take good care of its workers.
To bad everything is overpriced, the seats suck, wheel chair traveling is a nightmare, fall leaves are to much to handel and during peak ours you feel like cattle. I avoid the to travel with the NS at all cost.
@@afcansf5996 lol in other countries its much worse
@@afcansf5996 you think the grass is greener somewhere else??????
I once got a chanche to visit the cockpit of the ‘Koploper’ when I was young. The view in the cockpit was pretty amazing, because it was very high.
“With landscapes like this, it’s no surprise that the Dutch love cycling”
There is a _lot_ more to it. In fact the landscape has almost nothing to do with it. In the 1970s we were headed for car-oriented infrastructure just as many other countries were. But there were safety issues and so people started protesting. Nowadays we just have excellent infrastructure that aims to prioritize all modes of transport equally. If you want more information, there’s an excellent channel called “Not Just Bikes”.
Das niet waar
Als we bergen hadden tussen dorpen zouden we niet zeggen
''zullen we daar ff naartoe fietsen''
Not entirely true, if you include the Social Geographic aspect. Our landscape facilitates smaller towns that are relatively close to each other, which in turn made the bicycle a popular mode of transport from the moment of its inception. Marshall Aid and the subsequent car centric policies that were included in the package deal were more of a temporary deviation. The fact that protests against those policies were there at all during the 70's proves that cycling culture was already there...
I mean, a lot of countries have flat places, but barely any bicycle infrastructure, sooo does this argument really hold up?
@@krisizcelja Name said countries?
@@scyllajk2757 Slovenia, for example. While we are a very mountainous country, we do have a bunch of valleys and basins that are flat and big enough to build bike paths from settlements to settlements. Yet we don't have that everywhere here!
However, we are making some progress with this, though..
wow. as a Dutch transport TH-camr myself I must say you made a great video! I can hear you did your research! also it's a little bit weird because I travel almost daily on these trains myself. most people in the netherlands say it's the most comfortable train so It's sad that these trains will probably taken out of service before 2026
Do you know if they go out of service what they will be replaced by?
I'm thinking the revised DDZ's or perhaps a new model of train🤔
@@RobertDoornbosF1 they will mainly be replaced by ICNG, after those trains have taken over the HSL services
@@RobertDoornbosF1 they will be replaced by ICNG. that train is already driving around in the netherlands an will start passengers services in december or january
@@Hollandstation not all of ICM though! The first batches of ICM-1 and ICM-2 (the older three coach sets) will be replaced relatively quickly but the rest is planned to be replaced by DDNG (of which is the tender is currently ongoing) around 2026 (but I expect that 2028 is more likely)
@@treinenliefde Thanks. I didn't know of the DDNG yet!
I like the design with the drivers cab on top, allowing a walk through gangway (before it got removed in the Koploper, at least). Japan have some like this as well. The JR east E259 used on the Narita Express, E353 on the Chuo main line, and the JR west 271 series used for Haruka services in Osaka are the first 3 to come to my mind.
True, there are a few more around the world that I've heard about.
485 series too
@@GhostEyeHK Theres also the 183 381 583 . One of the most major designs for expresses during JNR
When I used these trains the whole front section, with space for the drivers stairs and a corridor around them, took up a lot of space. Don't know why they didn't just go for the same approach most uk emus use
@@chriskeene Exactly, I always wondered why they went through all that work to design something which turned out to be too faulty in the end. Admittedly, the UK emus are not "pretty" by any means and the driver doesn't have an undisturbed view without bars in the middle, but it is such an easy solution to be able to walk through joined together trains.
This brings back some memories when I worked at these trains , it was a real joy to help build them.
I did all kind of electric work in and outside these trains.
Things like putting the steering table in , put lamps on it, put in the ac and test it , cabin lights , the screens in all the cabins , test the door system ,do test rides etc etc.
Unfortunately I dont work there anymore but learned a lot there.
for me those 2nd class seats in the "koploper" are the best you will find in the netherlands, because most seats in busses or "sprinters" for example feel like an piece of wood with some fabric on top. So in my opinion those are very nice seats
And the worst seats being those on board the CAF-sprinters. Those force your body in an abnormal and horrible upright position and I always get pain in my back. I absolutely hate them. The old seats on the Koplopers were great though... Just like the old ICR ones ;)
Agree!!
as a train driver to be (currently studying for it in Rotterdam itself) ICM is my favorite type as it's just so sweet on the brakes and the decent acceleration, the height is amazing you look down on so many things you wouldn't be able to see in other types of trains. as a passenger it's one of if not the most comfortable trainsets together with the icr coaches (basicaly the pulled version of the icm midcar) a tip if you wanna hear the sound of the traction motors really well you have to sit on the motor car (with the pantographs) and the 2nd seat from the rear of the car
I hope that two of this iconic well loved ICM(m) trains by passengers and crews go into preservation.
a 3 and 4 unit set with their front doors reinstalled for coupling would be just perfect!
heyyy collega! o/
Okay, thanks for the tip! I hope you enjoy driving them before they go. :)
It's a shame about the state of the train. The vandalism really is reprehensible. That being said, another great review. In fact, for me, the best yet.
Not every train is like that. I think he simply was unlucky to get a train on the brink of refitting. In general (especially on the major routes) Dutch trains are well maintained and clean.
5:47 I take the train a lot, but my usual route has a different carriage design. Sometimes I have to take this train style, and the first time I did so I hit my knee hard on that bin when I got in... It's positioning is so terrible...
Also I love how you document this trip and think it's really special, even reviewing the station! For me its just daily life so I just hurry up to catch my train, get in and read a book or continue some work on my laptop. The ticketing system is really great, as a citizen you can get your personal OV-chipkaart, make sure you get the best deal on your daily route and use this one card for all the trains and busses there are. You can also connect your bank account, so you don't have to put money on it manually! And yea for a one-time ticket its really expensive, but there are better deals available for frequent users, and for students its free!
Thanks for watching! Every rail journey is special to me. 😃
I also travel a lot for my study in Delft. I've lost count on how many times I have hit the lid of the bin. And every time it closes it goes THUNK.
Also, yeah the 'Wifi in de Trein' is slow, but it is better than nothing. Like, how could one train ever provide fast/moderate internet to dozens of people?
@@suddeneevee9441 it is possible to put high-performance Wi-Fi Internet on a train, but it generally requires spending a fair bit of money on that (thousands of Dollars/Euros on hardware and at least hundreds per month on cellular and satellite service). This is because it requires multiple redundant connections for reliability and capacity, as well as high-end enterprise grade wireless access points also used in offices or schools that can handle many client devices, as well as routers to handle the Internet connections.
The Koploper is definitely my all time favorite. I loved taking it to college. I do miss the old orange double leather seats though. They made travelling even more comfortable and a lot classier.
Yeah and especially because they provided the shielded 6-seat units as well for 2nd class and still had the doors to shut yourself off from the rest of the train.
Rotterdam Alexander station is named after the Alexanderpolder region of Rotterdam where the station is located. Which polder itself is indeed named after a prince (though I'm not sure which actual prince of that name, there have been more than a few).
The Koplopers are very nice trains, used to ride them every day in the 1990s.
And yes, there were regular problems with the front passage, which somewhat regularly caused delays and cancellations.
Graffiti and vandalism are sadly a major problem in Dutch trains, especially in the western part of the country.
And the high density of the network, together with chronic equipment shortages (the Koplopers were retained in service and overhauled 15-20 years ago only because the scheduled replacements weren't delivered in time and ended up being canceled because of serious technical problems for example) doesn't improve things. There's often just no time to clean up and repair the damage during the very short downtime each carriage gets, and spares are hard to find.
It's so sad that they removed the 'koploper' feature that allowed you to walk between trains😭 And the connecting + disconnecting process wat nice to watch. The unique red old interior also gone. It's officially not called koploper anymore but I keep calling it that way for myself.
One of the best train review channels out there. Thanks for the content. 👍
Thank you so much, that makes me happy! :)
My favourite train for the longer trips. So sad that recently the first units of this realible type have been taken out of service after a long active life. My compliments for your research and the pronunciation of the Dutch names
It is a shame, thanks for watching though! :)
Super interesting video, I've taken these trains too many times to count but I still learned new things from your video. Kudos on your pronunciation of all the Dutch terms and names! Not that many TH-camrs who produce videos about our country make this much of an effort! ♥
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
as a Dutchman i say: very accurate video, well done! loved the 3d maps although itinerary depicted did not follow rail tracks unfoetunately.
yes a shame those vandalists cause bad shape of the train interiors :(
really not the NS to blame here.
Being a resident of Gouda and frequently travelling on this route to Rotterdam and back it's really neat to see a foreigner going through the same experience. Great video!
Thanks so much! :)
I miss commuting from this station; this video tickled a nostalgic spot in my heart, so thanks 😁
As a Canadian it is so crazy to see such a small country like the Netherlands (in size). Have such a nice and huge rail system. Public transport here is absolute garbage. Rail seems to go everywhere there its insane!! Plus that central station is an absolute marvel. We need to take notes.
It's great, the Netherlands is a very lucky country for public transport!
Check out the channel ‘Not Just Bikes’ run by a Canadian living in the Netherlands for answers on this questions
It's not so much about the size of the country alone, but the density as well. To put it in Canadian terms, it's half the population of Canada, crammed into a country half the size of Vancouver Island, with terrain similar to eastern Alberta. Except the soil is basically somewhere in between marsh land and Greek yoghurt.
Withdrawal of some of the older ones has already commenced. Held in reserve rather than scrapped. 140 km/h is the limit imposed by the NS train control system, but 160 km/h is permitted on the HSL which only runs to Schipol NOT Amsterdam. Utrecht Centraal is the busiest station in the Netherlands.
If you look at it that way technically Hoofddorp. Utrecht is the busiest and largest station. I commute from there every week. A maximum speed of 300 km/ph is permitted on the HSL, but the Vmax on older trains is 160 and with the ICNG that will replace the ICM it’s 200 km/ph.
Cool to see a visit to Rotterdam!
NS will be showing off the new ICNG at Centraal this weekend which will hopefully replace older trains on the Intercity Direct route to Amsterdam by years end.
But ICNG is not comfortable and it looks ugly. Design of the paint/livery on the ICNG train makes it look slow instead of fast. The seating is also NOT well thought of.
I’ll never understand the joy that some people derive out of defacing railway cars, buildings, etc. Apparently the word “respect” isn’t in their vocabulary and an inconceivable thought process for them. 🙄🤨
It's not nice is it... Even more sad when it's a heritage vehicle, which is no doubt even more expensive to repair.
Travelled from the hook to Utrecht a few times and can hardly remember anything about it and yes I was not drinking,had to change at Utrecht and remember everything from there and the railway station, enjoyable days, nice post
Wow, such memories. This train was my first one used in the Netherlands in 2016 when I travelled first time there: Eindhoven to The Hagues.
Thank you for the review, great video and I like the voice over style and how you integrate in the video.
Thanks very much! :)
I remember well riding these when they would still be coupled up. Was nice to be able to walk the entire length of the train, and to watch the process from outside, with those big yellow doors swinging open and the tunnel extending hydraulically. They also used to have catering in those days.
Me as a dutch person I quite like the comfort of the ICM. Also your pronounciation is very good for a English person in my opinion.
Thank you! :)
In my oppinion these are the most comfortable trains the NS has. Such a shame they don't have much longer. I always liked the atmosphere these trains have. Hopefully the ICNG will be a worthy replacement.
@Frank Leurs I don't find the DDZ and Flow VIRM to be more comfortable. What makes it worse is that the Flow VIRM has almost the exact same seats in the first class except of some minor differences. DDZ first class is good but nothing beats the ICM.
@@Project_Slagharen i second this, the icm has the most comfort out of the current stock in my opinion, and with it being designed with comfort in mind together with the ICR its no suprise, VIRM is not bad but a bit eh and i dont run often enough on DDZ to give a fair opinion on it
Ive heard ICNG is not terrible either though so lets hope it doesnt pull an SNG and breaks your spine after 5 minutes
@@rickvanderleck3604 yeah
The icng interior looks like a damn hospital.
@@MrAronymous What kind of hospitals did you visit? Like i haven't seen any hospitals with mood lighting.
I've seen this train between Rotterdam and Gouda a million times, but _still_ this video was absolutely captivating
Thank you so much haha. 😇
Great video Albie. I really like that you're now doing voice overs and that we can see your face a bit at the start. This, and the fact that you're covering the Netherlands means I'm actually going to start watching your videos a lot more! I never really liked the silent ones where you had to read everything. Have you ever thought about remaking your old videos and adding voiceovers? You might get a lot more views!
Thanks! I've considered remaking older videos, but I have soooo many new ones filmed and to be filmed, that it just wouldn't be feasible! 😅
Most of the dutch people use their 'ov chipkaart' (public transport chipcard) to travel on the public transport. You can set any amount of money you want on the card at one of the ticket machines and use the card to check in at the gates. When you are done traveling (or switching between different transport companies) you can check out at those exact same gates (at smaller stations those gates are poles) and it automatically draws a certain amount of money away from the card depending on how far you travel.
This works for every type of transport in the Netherlands and saves you a lot of time and money.
Small little funfact.
This seems to be a very interesting place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much! And please keep up the great job! Subscribed!!
Thank you very much, hope you can visit Rotterdam soon! :)
Considering the short distance the train covers, it looks like it has sufficient comfort. I could well imagine taking trains around Netherlands when visiting my boyfriend who is Dutch (I’m Swedish) just to see more of the country than the tracks from the airport in Amsterdam to his city which is nearby. Funnily enough I knew you were talking about Gouda because I’ve learned how the Dutch say it XD Reading Dutch can be easy enough for me as a Swede, but understanding spoken Dutch can be a bit more challenging (though doable), doubt I’ll ever learn to speak it though, even my boyfriend is confused about the sounds they make in Dutch, and it’s his native language 😅
Memories of driving that train from high school through university immediately came to me
Honestly enjoyed this, remember seeing these trains back in 2016 and 2017 and enjoyed seeing them, however ever rode them once
That's a shame, you should go back and try them before they go!
Thanks for watching. :)
It should be noted that for regular passengers prices are a lot lower, because they can use their ov-chip card. There are multiple year-long subscriptions which can give you very significant discounts (like -40% outside of peak hours), and for students like me it is totally free during either the weekend or the midweek
Good job! 🚅🚃🚃🚃🚃👍✔
Thanks, glad you liked it! 😃
Great idea great project this ..
The seat material depends on what intercity you take. The intercity from Lelystad to Dordrecht, for example, has really comfy woolen seats
5:00 and that is the best seat in 2nd class we have in the netherlands, the ICMm is my favorite train tbh i like the chopper sound
Very informative video. I lived in Japan for 11 years and there are trains with the driver's cabs up top like these ones, for the same reason, to couple multiple sets and allow the passengers to walk between the sets. Rotterdam station reminds me of a smaller version of new Osaka station.
Thanks! I'd really like to try those Japanese ones.
That is still one of my favourite Dutch trainsets together with the Mat '54 & Mat '64.
Nice video! And ahh, memories; the last 'real' Dutch train ... remember the prototype batch series 4001-4007 running from my childhood hometown at test speeds of 160 km/h. Beautiful design, by the Raymond Loewy studios, if I remember correctly.
First video of your channel that I’m watching! Very Nice report! Hope you will visit Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. It’s A beautiful city and you can review the Arriva trains (Stadler GTW and the rare Stadler WINK). Also to Groningen NS runs ICM and also DDZ doubledeckers. Maybe nice for another NS review?
Thank you very much! Got a bit more Dutch content filmed already, but thanks for the advice, good for another trip. :)
What a nice little video that took us through it in a pleasant and calm way - quite soothing and therapeutic! Moreover, in stark contrast to the noisy, frantic and breathless content to which we are usually subjected....
The content also caught my eye, however, simply because my mother's Dutch and I lived in Amsterdam for just over two years in the 90s although didn't often use the train. Everything you showed us chimes with my recollections...clean modern stations, frequent, convenient departures and prices not noticeably cheap, but not horrendous either. As at least one of the other commentators below suggests, you could have substantially improved on the fare by getting the Jaarkaart I think it's called? Basically you pay a one off cost of €60 and it gives you 40% discount for off-peak travel.
The Dutch are pragmatic - cleanliness and functionality is more important to them than a bit of wear and faded graffiti. It's a pity they have that "element" over there too, like most countries, but don't let it stop them travelling.
I don't know how regularly you travel in The Netherlands but your pronunciation wasn't too bad! You got the guttural "ch" and "g" right in Utrecht and Gouda - they are very similar sounds. Like how Scots say "loch" or the Germans say "Bach". May I just gently guide you on the Dutch "s"? It's just like the soft English one! Think "Swiss" "sweet" or "host". So for Amersfoort it's "Aahh-mers-foort" instead of "Aahh-mersch-foort" and Nederlandse Spoorwegen is "Nei-der-lants-eh Spoor-vei-ch-eh" rather than "Nei-der-lansch-eh Schpoor-vei-ch-eh" Hope that helps you get the max from your travels in and around that great country....
Weird to see Rotterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal from the perspective of someone else, after having travelled there by train a lot myself.
Fun review. And I agree wholeheartidly that those trashbins can be a pain when you sit.
Rush hour is a drama, especially when the NS keeps saying trains are delayed or won't drive and you gotta wait another 30 min.
And not having a place to sit is more common than rare. So I pretty much called NS Nederlandse Sardientjes (Dutch Sardines) back then. X)
Great video. The train is definitely very interesting - we had similar one in the USSR but built as a prototype only.
it was all leather in 1970 ish, very stylish!
they replaced it with cheap materials, lower level train now
I have seen the russian train, that was a cheap copy of the hitler train on wide track, the USSR train was on normal track! never build it, shame...
@@lucasrem soviet engineers never copied Hitler's train, mate, You're completely wrong.
@@lucasrem USSR trains and normal track? You must be wrong there. Soviet tracks are wider (which is currently the issue in Ukraine with shipping all their grain, as Ukraine has a lot of former soviet (and thus wider) traintracks.
@5:46 a funfact about the bins as you can see the icm 3(cart or 4000 series) train has 1 big trashbin inbetween the seats. with the icm 4(cart or 4200 series) having 2 very small bins one under each seat (right under that netting).
i think the fabric on the seats actually looks pretty good considering it must be almost 20 years old by now, but for how expensive it is to take a train i think they could do with a little upgrade here and there. great video on these iconic dutch trains tho. keep it up! :)
The other trains from NS, VIRM gets lots of upgrades
Those seats are by far not 20 years old: somewhere in 2018 or so, the upholstering was even replaced. Can't remember why, but many people said they were getting replaced because of some problem. I hoped that they would get more comfortable als the 'old new ones' appeared rocksolid but no... (but hey... nothing beats the old orange seats, air-showers and lights built into the luggage-compartments from the pre-refurbishment era)
So i'm a dutchy, and I don't know why but this video was really relaxing...
It was nice, well spoken.... Friendly and objective...
Got in some train usage in Netherlands this summer. Seems quite efficient and i actually think it seems relativly cheap. One of my trips was from Amsterdam to Antwerpen and back. On the return trip there i had to change train and get a detour through Gouda and Utrecht. Still a nice trip, in other places i know this would be unthinkable and the changes would take quite a few hours to get around instead.
I've taken that train so many times, but in the opposite direction (Amersfoort - Utrecht). I hope you had a nice stay in our hometown, Amersfoort.
Thank you. :)
I remember when they would connect the trains through a slues.
New station has a really fun nickname.
PS get a off peak hour discount card. It's €50 euro but you'll earn it back in 3-4 trips a year
Good thing to know about the bins in the chair. They are working at replacing them with other kinds of bins. Because the tall dutch people were anoyed by the placing too.
I simply love this train. For me, it represents trains in the Netherlands just like nothing else.
I've only been in a Koploper a few times, my high school commute was entirely done by Sprinter - the older SGM model a lot of the time, and honestly they were better: more seats, and they were more comfortable too.
Commute to college was usually in double deckers, which have pretty decent seats. Koplopers and ICRs have the best seats.
As for leg room, the airline seats in Sprinters are insufficient for me (6'4"). Intercity's are mostly fine, but I still look for bay seats first.
somewhere in the latter parts of the year, the new intercities that will replace this old intercity will start riding, so maybe you should check them out by then. They are called the ICGN
I really like that the names aren't butchered like many channels do. Of course the accent isn't perfect, but it's not bad
Seems like a fair assessment of our NS
Thanks!
From what I gather, these intercity trains are more prone to get vandalized due to all the ‘closed off’ spaces that offer the vandals “privacy” to do their vandalizing… Also a shortage of staff to do extra surveying isn’t helpful. On the sprinter trains on the other hand, there’s pretty much no (big/extensive) vandalism due to their open layout, they’re open uninterrupted from the front all the way to the back, allowing for easier surveillance by staff and the effect of other travelers always being close by, gives the vandals no opportunity to do much if any vandalizing. Plus the (newer) sprinter trains have camera surveillance.
Vandalising, travellers, i.e. English English instead of American English.
Certainly a distinctive looking train. and a real classic. It reminds me a lot of Japanese rolling stock used on Limited Express (LEX) serivces - which come in all sorts of interesting designs.
Agree, the Japanese ones are quite similar!
the shed you see on 4:35 is the steamtrain museum Stoom Stichting Nederland. i work there every saturday, :)
Ooh, that's so cool! :)
Beautiful
In the Netherlands, trains are mostly used by working-class commuters. If you have a halfway decent job you travel by car.
Also, note that most employees travel with a monthly ticket and get reimbursed by their employer.
I noticed that your pronunciation of Dutch is very good!
quite a cool review, glad to hear people outside the netherlands also appreciate the koploper.
i've been on it quite a lot of times, both in 1st (the coupé-style seats are especially nice) and 2nd class, as well as the ICRm carriages, which were based off of the middle carriages in an ICM(m). pretty much always been some of the most unique, interesting, and most importantly, comfortable. it's a real shame they're being taken out of service, though their replacement, the ICNG, is also quite a comfortable train.
i do gotta agree though on the first issue, the ICM(m) has a pretty big issue of dirty/vandalized interiors, second to maybe only the non-refurbished VIRM units. those get quite gross too, though what else to expect when people travel in it?
that and those are relatively old trains, compared to stuff like the ICNG, flow VIRM and SNG.
the price issue isn't as big though if pay for one of the travel subscriptions that NS offers (such as Weekend Vrij, though it's rather expensive if you want unlimited travel on weekdays, even if just during off-peak hours). of course, that's only really viable if you travel frequently by train.
Great video
Thanks!
These trains look dope!!
They sure do! 😎
I’ll tell you what it is, it’s absolutely magnificent. They even sound cool if you”e standing still and one passes you by.
I’m quite saddened that they’re phasing the Koplopers out and replacing them with the more conventional, slightly… meh-looking ICNGs. I really hope the NS gets themselves another instant classic in-house Intercity one day.
Echt? Ik vind deze juist het fijnst zeker met de stilte hokjes in de eerste klas. Die dubbeldekkers hebben dat niet meer. Ik mis ook wel hsl lijnen in nederland en dan geen 160km/h maar 200+km/h
@@Dutch__Z900 het traject tussen Den Haag Mariahoeve en Hoofddorp is(tussen Mariahoeve en Leiden echter alleen de middelste sporen)geschikt voor 160 km/h echter de binnenlandse diensten rijden niet harder dan 140 km/h.
Ook al zouden de binnenlandse treinen harder mogen veel zou het niet uitmaken met de korte stopafstand.
De Hanzelijn is ook voor hogere snelheden geschikt en het baanvak(op de boog bij Kampen zuid na aldaar 160 km/h)is geschikt voor 200 km/h gek genoeg staan bijvoorbeeld op de Schiphollijn wel bordjes met 16(x 10)maar op de Hanzelijn echter 14. Van wat ik begrepen heb mag Thalys wel 160 op de Schiphollijn.
Voorlopig zijn er geen nieuwe hsl lijnen in de maak en je kan ook afvragen of dat nodig is.
Goedkoper zou zijn bijvoorbeeld Utrecht-Arnhem aan te passen(geen gelijkvloerse kruisingen en een compleet nieuwe bovenleiding vergelijkbaar met de Hanzelijn de standaard bovenleiding heeft echt zijn max op 160 en volgens energievoorziening zelfs 140 maar ook tussen Helmond en Sevenum mag in principe ook 160 gereden worden en daar hangt ook overal de klassieke ook wel b1 bovenleiding en wordt er alleen bij tests die snelheden gehaald..
Er zijn natuurlijk ook andere maatregelen die voor versnelling kunnen zorgen zoals het halveren van stops in de ic Berlijn en een multicourante loc zodat de locwissel te Bad Bentheim kan vervallen en die vraagt behoorlijk wat tijd.
Al met al is er weinig tijd te winnen op de relatief korte trajecten
@@Dutch__Z900 Vroeger waren er ook enkele van die compartimenten tweede klas. Ik vind de meeste Nederlandse treinen ruk wat betreft geluidsisolatie: echt afsluitende deuren heb je nergens meer en vooral IRM is een absoluut dieptepunt wat betreft geluidsoverlast: aan dat achterlijke gepiep van de metaalplaten op de bak-overgangen is echt niet te ontkomen, waar je ook zit.
A pity you didn't went out in Utrecht CS to see more of the trainstation. Good an honest review.
I met a friend there after recording this actually! :)
The ticket you used was full price and also valid at peak hours. There are off-peak tickets with 40% discount but they are only available for people with a valid discount prescription on their chipcard so not available for tourists. However there are day tickets for tourists (but not as cheap as in some other countries).
Finally, a train review!
Yay! I've got loads of them on my channel, check them out. :)
Excellent video and presentation 👌👌👌I enjoyed for full🤗🤗🤗 Indeed a very nice and comfortable train travel with👍👍 Before thid train the Dutch Railways ( Nederlandse Spoorwegen) another iconic train called mat ‘54 with name Hondekop.
These train had some colour variants, like the ICM Koploper, yellow with blue diagonal bands for commercials, green with yellow “mustache” without and with blue diagonal bands, green with “Bloedneus” and dark blue with yellow band over whole length of train.
There are 4 of trains still here, pls take a look in Dutch Railway museum in Utrecht, you can see there a Hondekop in green outfit🙏
Keep sharing
Thank you very much for watching. :)
The Netherlands in general is the country with the functions spread around the country, formal capital Amsterdam but nowadays both Royal family and Parliament are based in Den Haag, aside of NS in Utrecht the Radio for instance also is outside the bigger places in Hilversum.
My favourite Dutch train, a unique train.
Seats are very very good. Best seats in Dutch trains.
The ICMs are my favourite Dutch intercity material. And I almost always have a seat in one of those 6-seat sections. Because those sections are not only first class, but they are quiet zones as well (so, no conversations, no phone calls, but train travel like it's supposed to be).
Sounds perfect!
Fond memories of arriving at Amersfoort on a late, crowded train one winter - while a youngster wasn't shy about using his phone - somewhat poetically. An older, besuited passenger suddenly engaged with the knucklehead, informing him that nobody else was interested in hearing his "solicitatie gesprek". Spontaneous applause broke out - knucklehead put his phone away!
I've never been on Netherlands trains but my first thought was how similar it looks to the Japanese Narita and Haruka Airport express trains.
I agree with that!
This design/shape of train with a extending concealed gangway at the ends is popular in Japan as well.
True, including the airport express I believe?
Very nice!
Thanks!
That train is in great shape compared to others. I once took a local train in northern England and I had to wade through all the trash on the floor.
Yes I completely understand the prices of transport is a bit high but usually the employers cover those transport charges in the Netherlands.
The ICM also know as the Koploper will be soon started to be replaced by the delayed ICNG (Intercity New Generation). That's why the ICM did't get any recently upgrades or repairs like the seats. But personally I still like the ICM very much till today.
It's a shame... :(
I’m here and ready to see the weird train
Thanks for reviewing this train style and journey. Will you also try the “double decker” style trains which are more common in Niederlande than some other countries. Finally check out the newer models of double decker, for instance in Germany, which are even more spacious and comfortable up and down.
Thanks for watching! I've filmed a few other Dutch trains, so stay tuned!
I totally love this train! And I love Dutchies ♥ but dang, this train is beautiful!
It's a really cool design!
Reminds me of the UAC TurboTrain
Denmark is getting new trains somewhere in 2023-2024 so it would be interesting to see a review of that when they come into service
The Netherlands is a small country, but has one of the densest railway networks in the world, only surpassed by a few other countries in Western Europe.
But it's still a relatively small network with 3200km/2000miles.
In the ranking of highest passenger mileages per country Netherlands ranks place 13 worldwide and for absolute number of passengers was ranked place 14 with almost 475 million passengers per year.
Km pricing depends on the distance of travel, the longer the journey, the lower the km price gets, the longest distance you can get a ticket for is about 320km/200miles.
Most of the journeys made don't exceed 30km/20miles, so the expenses the railways have to make in providing the dense services have to be regained in the relative short average distance per journey made, that's why km pricing is relatively high.
The ICM has indeed a lot of problems due its age. U should try the VIRM and DDZ. those trains are always in good condition
5:35 That is actually not a cup holder but a newspaper holder. You can but your books and newspapers under there to make sure they dont blow away/ get disturbed by moving passengers. Really shows the age of these trains.
you should really try the valleilijn protos (Amersfoort- Ede-Wgeningen) its a really nice train with a nice scenery along the route
I saw that, it has an interesting history too!
Very nice.
Thanks