The NS has the faster train connection from Breda and Rotterdam via Amsterdam to the north and east of the Netherlands postponed, because the delivery of the new intercity trains (ICNG) has been partly delayed. The new connection was to be commissioned in 2023, but due to the corona crisis, that will not be earlier than 2024.
The ICNG is being built by the French manufacturer Alstom. This company has been delayed in building and testing the intercity trains as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is partly because employees have been in quarantine, international and domestic travel restrictions and the delayed delivery of parts.
State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure regrets the delay, writes them in a letter to the House of Representatives. She will approach the Dutch Railways to implement the connection as soon as possible.
From 2022, NS wants to gradually start using the new ICNG (Intercity New Generation). It must first run between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Breda and then between The Hague and Eindhoven.
As soon as enough ICNG aircraft can run in the Netherlands, the train must start running from the high-speed line between Rotterdam, Breda and Schiphol to Groningen and Enschede. Initially, the train travels at 160 kilometers per hour, but once it has been implemented on all routes and functions properly, it can be increased to 200 kilometers per hour.
With the new timetable of 2022, the Dutch Railways also wants to run six trains per hour between Schiphol and Rotterdam, between Nijmegen and Schiphol and between Dordrecht and Rotterdam. After the introduction of the ICNG, a new sprinter must also start running between Hoofddorp, Schiphol and Amsterdam Central.
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