Hello, Meester Bart, how are you? That must be the longest driving turn on NS. Does your route knowledge run out at Sittard? As always, best wishes to you and thanks for keep bringing us your cab rides 👍🏼
You are the most responsive and informative youtuber I've ever had the pleasure of viewing! I've got another question for you: you have videos through Schiphol of Sprinters to Weesp-Utrecht and Hoorn, but what about Intercities through Amsterdam Zuid, e.g. the Den Haag-Zwolle or Schiphol-Utrecht routes? I guess you never get scheduled for those, like Groningen? :(
Thank you! I try to reply to all sensible comments, it's the whole point of having a social platform! :) I do go through Amsterdam Zuid, just last week I had the intercity from Hoofddorp Opstel - Schiphol - Amsterdam Zuid - Bijlmer - Utrecht CS, but since it was already dark I didn't film that trip. Which is typical now that the days are becoming shorter. As for the IC Den Haag CS - Zwolle, I do have all the requirements to drive that route but it's not part of my schedule which means I don't drive that train unless I get redirected during a shift. I've lost everything above Zwolle, so I'm no longer allowed to go to Groningen and Leeuwarden.
Requalification is something that is avoided whenever possible. If I have to re-qualify for a tracks it means I have to get at least one day to get familiar with the route again. That's one (or more) day(s) that's paid but not actually driving. So from the company's viewpoint, that's not desired. There is a system that checks all the qualifications of all the drivers. Whenever a route is within 3 months of expiring the schedulers get a notification so they can take action (read: give me a shift with that route). I do have all the qualifications on my PDA as well since I'm by law required to prove I'm allowed to drive somewhere when I get an inspection. However, I don't keep track of all my routes and when they expire.
Do ProRail or NS have any plans to add more tracks between Houten and Den Bosch? It seems to be at or nearly at max capacity, since it mixes Intercities, Sprinters and freight trains all onto the same track (as evidenced by 1:21:30 - 1:26:00). Surely the plan to add two more services per hour to Eindhoven would put it right at the max. Of course, the reason it hasn't been done already is because of the large number of bridges that would be required -- but maybe even something like three or four tracks between Culemborg and the southern junction with the Betuweroute seems like a reasonably cost effective way to expand capacity. (Wow I'm bored right now)
For that matter, what about quad tracking the section between Den Bosch and the Tilburg-junction in Vught? And also grade separating that junction (like the similar junction just north of Den Bosch). I think it's the last major source of route-crossing-conflicts in the Utrecht-Nijmegen-Eindhoven-Tilburg area, and it should be a higher benefits/costs ratio than extra tracks north of Den Bosch.
Make no mistake about it, if it were up to ProRail they'd happily put 4 lanes everywhere. Or even upgrade the single tracks to double ones. There is the issue of space and finances though. You need enough room on both side of the tracks to put down two more tracks. And as you already stated, the bridges are a challenge too. The biggest concern is, of course, the money. Putting down extra tracks is expensive and ProRail wants to split the bill with other parties (NS & The provinces) but they are reluctant to help pay since they don't have that kind of money as change either.
Allow me to rephrase the previous essay, er, paragraph: what's the most prioritized section that ProRail currently wants to upgrade but is still seeking support for? (That is, what is their most wanted upgrade that isn't yet in firm planning and design?)
Oh, that I can't answer you. You'd have to check in with ProRail itself for that one. I know several projects have been shot down by the provinces. For example Nijmegen - Den Bosch, ProRail wanted to restore the tracks to double all the way but the costs for the province was too great and they didn't go along.
Apparently ProRail has been trying to four track the DenBosch-Vught section since 2012! www.prorail.nl/projecten/denbosch/meteren-boxtel www.prorail.nl/projecten/vught Thank god for Google Translate, otherwise I'd never have found that (and its sister pages) :)
Ha Meester Bart,ik had deze rit ook 2 maanden terug naar Maastricht met de 8651 met dezelfde ook weer terug na een half uur,mij te warm toen,35c.had een blokker kaartje en heb 10 GB gefilmd,maar ik upload nog niks,moet eerst wat info hebben op de 11 van de 11de.lol.
A train driver in The Netherlands is not allowed to drive for more than three hours straight. That is the reason why I can no longer go from Alkmaar to Maastricht in one go. Sittard is as far as I can get from Alkmaar and stay within the 3 hour limit.
Surely it's only ten minutes or so longer than 3 hours? What about Amsterdam-Vlissingen? Well I suppose that's longer than it was before because now it goes through Haarlem
Yes, it certainly. That's why each train only has a 30 second buffer (early and late) to arrive in. It's down to the second how trains are planned now.
ze stigen weer op van Schiphol op 21:48.mooie rit zover in deze nachtdienst,lol.00:32. je moet er toch wat voor over hebben om deze mooie video te zien,toch? lol.
als ik dit bekijk,de trein,de aardbol,het intergalactiche,dan zijn wij toch wel uniek,want alleen hier rijd de trein,en die is niet weg te denken.zo,hoe vinden we die? lol. kwam zomaar in me op.
Hello, Meester Bart, how are you? That must be the longest driving turn on NS. Does your route knowledge run out at Sittard? As always, best wishes to you and thanks for keep bringing us your cab rides 👍🏼
Hello Ian, everything is going well. It's one of the longer drives, yes. I'm still allowed to go to Maastricht and Heerlen just no longer in one go.
You are the most responsive and informative youtuber I've ever had the pleasure of viewing! I've got another question for you: you have videos through Schiphol of Sprinters to Weesp-Utrecht and Hoorn, but what about Intercities through Amsterdam Zuid, e.g. the Den Haag-Zwolle or Schiphol-Utrecht routes? I guess you never get scheduled for those, like Groningen? :(
Thank you! I try to reply to all sensible comments, it's the whole point of having a social platform! :) I do go through Amsterdam Zuid, just last week I had the intercity from Hoofddorp Opstel - Schiphol - Amsterdam Zuid - Bijlmer - Utrecht CS, but since it was already dark I didn't film that trip. Which is typical now that the days are becoming shorter. As for the IC Den Haag CS - Zwolle, I do have all the requirements to drive that route but it's not part of my schedule which means I don't drive that train unless I get redirected during a shift. I've lost everything above Zwolle, so I'm no longer allowed to go to Groningen and Leeuwarden.
No longer "allowed"? Does that mean your route qualification has expired or something?
Yes, the route expires if you haven't been there for a year. So you have to drive the route at least once a year to maintain it.
How hard it would be to requalify? Can you request it? Could you tell the schedulers "hey my qualification is about to expire let me drive it pls"?
Requalification is something that is avoided whenever possible. If I have to re-qualify for a tracks it means I have to get at least one day to get familiar with the route again. That's one (or more) day(s) that's paid but not actually driving. So from the company's viewpoint, that's not desired. There is a system that checks all the qualifications of all the drivers. Whenever a route is within 3 months of expiring the schedulers get a notification so they can take action (read: give me a shift with that route). I do have all the qualifications on my PDA as well since I'm by law required to prove I'm allowed to drive somewhere when I get an inspection. However, I don't keep track of all my routes and when they expire.
Do ProRail or NS have any plans to add more tracks between Houten and Den Bosch? It seems to be at or nearly at max capacity, since it mixes Intercities, Sprinters and freight trains all onto the same track (as evidenced by 1:21:30 - 1:26:00). Surely the plan to add two more services per hour to Eindhoven would put it right at the max. Of course, the reason it hasn't been done already is because of the large number of bridges that would be required -- but maybe even something like three or four tracks between Culemborg and the southern junction with the Betuweroute seems like a reasonably cost effective way to expand capacity.
(Wow I'm bored right now)
For that matter, what about quad tracking the section between Den Bosch and the Tilburg-junction in Vught? And also grade separating that junction (like the similar junction just north of Den Bosch). I think it's the last major source of route-crossing-conflicts in the Utrecht-Nijmegen-Eindhoven-Tilburg area, and it should be a higher benefits/costs ratio than extra tracks north of Den Bosch.
Make no mistake about it, if it were up to ProRail they'd happily put 4 lanes everywhere. Or even upgrade the single tracks to double ones. There is the issue of space and finances though. You need enough room on both side of the tracks to put down two more tracks. And as you already stated, the bridges are a challenge too. The biggest concern is, of course, the money. Putting down extra tracks is expensive and ProRail wants to split the bill with other parties (NS & The provinces) but they are reluctant to help pay since they don't have that kind of money as change either.
Allow me to rephrase the previous essay, er, paragraph: what's the most prioritized section that ProRail currently wants to upgrade but is still seeking support for? (That is, what is their most wanted upgrade that isn't yet in firm planning and design?)
Oh, that I can't answer you. You'd have to check in with ProRail itself for that one. I know several projects have been shot down by the provinces. For example Nijmegen - Den Bosch, ProRail wanted to restore the tracks to double all the way but the costs for the province was too great and they didn't go along.
Apparently ProRail has been trying to four track the DenBosch-Vught section since 2012!
www.prorail.nl/projecten/denbosch/meteren-boxtel
www.prorail.nl/projecten/vught
Thank god for Google Translate, otherwise I'd never have found that (and its sister pages) :)
Ha Meester Bart,ik had deze rit ook 2 maanden terug naar Maastricht met de 8651 met dezelfde ook weer terug na een half uur,mij te warm toen,35c.had een blokker kaartje en heb 10 GB gefilmd,maar ik upload nog niks,moet eerst wat info hebben op de 11 van de 11de.lol.
Zo, aardig ritje meteen. Eventjes voor zitten :) Maar niet door tot Maastricht?
Nee, helaas. Die dag tot Sittard. Onlangs nog wel in Maastricht geweest maar toen heb ik maar tot Den Bosch kunnen opnemen voordat het te donker werd.
What're the logistical reasons for stopping a driver's route in Sittard vs Maastricht?
A train driver in The Netherlands is not allowed to drive for more than three hours straight. That is the reason why I can no longer go from Alkmaar to Maastricht in one go. Sittard is as far as I can get from Alkmaar and stay within the 3 hour limit.
Surely it's only ten minutes or so longer than 3 hours? What about Amsterdam-Vlissingen? Well I suppose that's longer than it was before because now it goes through Haarlem
Amsterdam - Vlissingen was just under 3 hours. And Alkmaar - Maastricht is just over 3 hours. I always liked the ride but it's not allowed anymore.
Do you know what the reason was for the yellows on the bridge at ~ 1:19:00?
I was too early and ran into the all station service ahead of me.
hehehe oops. guess that's only further support for my contention that "Den Bosch - Utrecht is crowded" :)
Yes, it certainly. That's why each train only has a 30 second buffer (early and late) to arrive in. It's down to the second how trains are planned now.
ze stigen weer op van Schiphol op 21:48.mooie rit zover in deze nachtdienst,lol.00:32. je moet er toch wat voor over hebben om deze mooie video te zien,toch? lol.
als ik dit bekijk,de trein,de aardbol,het intergalactiche,dan zijn wij toch wel uniek,want alleen hier rijd de trein,en die is niet weg te denken.zo,hoe vinden we die? lol. kwam zomaar in me op.
vliegtuis was een A 340/403.
wat betekent zo een rond wit bord met 33 erin eigelijk?
Dat is een aankondiging overweg. In dit geval dat er bij km 33 een overweg aankomt.