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NS unveils new NS livery on refurbished VIRM double deck trains

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MisterT

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Yesterday, NS held a press event where they unveiled the newly refurbished VIRM inter-regional/intercity trains of the second and third generation (VIRM 2/3). While that isn't really interesting in itself - as the first generation VIRM units have already been refurbished in almost the same way, these trains are the first multiple units to carry the new NS livery:

VIRMm 2/3 with the new NS livery
Picture: NS

This livery will be applied to all new trains*, including the local Sprinter trains, which is a change in itself. Previously, NS applied the classic yellow and blue livery on the Intercity trains and a different white/yellow/blue livery on the sprinter trains to distinguish the local sprinter trains from the intercity services, but with other operators having the same white base livery, NS tries to establish their brand a bit more strongly towards the customers.

The VIRM trains will have a completely new interior with dynamic lighting, which is automatically adjusted to the time of the day and the amount of sunlight outside (so the lights will be brighter in the evening and in tunnels, and more dim or even almost off on a bright sunny day).
Unfortunately, NS themselves haven't published good pictures from the new interior, so I'd like to refer those who are interested in that to the links down below, but here is a little teaser from the 2nd class, upper deck interior:

NS VIRMm 2/3 second class upper deck

And (finally!) the newly added plug sockets and USB ports in the 1st class:

virm2-3stroom1eklas.jpg

The second class is only equipped with USB ports for charging.
For those interested in the refurbishment process from the VIRM trains, NS has posted a time-lapse video:


The official news item can be found here: NS unveils refurbished double deck trains in a new livery
More pictures from the interior as well can be found at various news sources, like the Dutch site 'Treinreiziger'. They published a news article (Treinreiziger.nl article about the refurbished trains) and a review in pictures: In pictures: The refurbished double deck trains

Some random facts about the trains: each carriage has more than 20 km of wiring; the trains finally have USB ports for charging (2nd class) and plug sockets + USB ports (1st class); The trains have a completely new HVAC system, which should improve the climate inside; every three weeks a complete refurbished train is delivered, but the process itself takes longer than that, as multiple units are in the process of being refurbished at the same time; the trains now have front facing camera's that can be used when accidents happen; the first newly refurbished trains will be in service from next week in the Intercity service between Amsterdam and The Hague, and is currently being tested for delivery:


* Excluding the Intercity New Generation trains coming into service next year. Those will still have the old Intercity livery.
 
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XAM2175

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I'm not really sure what I think of the new livery - it's not bad, but I'm not really sure that I like it either.

Those carriers moving it around the workshop, however, are very very cool :E
 

superjohn

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Without the old grey area on the front end the wraparound curved area containing the headlights ends up looking like a big cheesy grin. The coupling aperture forms a goatee underneath and it is crying out to have a couple of eyes drawn on the driver’s sun blind.

More seriously, the large expanse of yellow on the bodyside will provide an ideal canvas for the inevitable graffiti.
 

DanielB

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More seriously, the large expanse of yellow on the bodyside will provide an ideal canvas for the inevitable graffiti.
If only the graffiti was limited to the yellow areas. Unfortunately it isn't.

By the way: the original design had less that big grin look as it had a lot more blue on the front and rear cabs. However this was changed for visibility reasons after the horrific crash of a Sprinter near Hooghalen.
For that same reason the SNG fleet is now also having its cabs painted bright yellow instead of dark blue.

The branding arguments for this new livery sound a bit odd to me however: NS is the only operator having a white/blue front and back on there trainsets (depending on the class with more or less yellow added to it). All other operators (Transdev, Arriva and Keolis) have trains with a completely white front and back. Only exception is Qbuzz due to the R-net livery on their trains (with a red front and back), which is also used by NS on the Gouda-Alphen a/d Rijn franchise.
 
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davetheguard

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I'm not really sure what I think of the new livery - it's not bad, but I'm not really sure that I like it either.

Those carriers moving it around the workshop, however, are very very cool :E

Looks like more of the same to me: yellow & blue!
 

py_megapixel

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Northern, take note... "refurbished" means something more than replacing the seat covers and door controls, changing the lightbulbs and throwing in a new coat of paint and a cheap nasty PIS.
And the worst part is, Northern dared call theirs "like new"...
 

JonasB

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From one great livery to another, NS does it again. I'm glad to see the VIRMs live on, I really like them (apart from the low windows on the upper floor).
 

AlexNL

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its new yet its recognisable for being NS.
On the other hand, is it really worth the bother?
The trains needed their mid-life overhaul anyway, and a new coat of paint was needed. Given that NS have introduced their "flow" branding years ago, applying it to new trains makes sense.

What surprises me a little more is that the "flow" livery isn't being applied to the ICNG trains, which are still being delivered.
 

DanielB

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Maybe the wrapping for ICNG had already been ordered? As these trains are actually painted black and then wrapped in there final livery changing it is less easy compared to VIRMm-2/3, which is painted.

The old look will take quite some time to disappear anyway: the oldest VIRM-2/3 sets are now refurbished at an age of 19 years, but VIRM-4 reaches that age only in 2027. And when DDZ Will last another 20 years after refurbishment, we'll already be in 2031... By that time the first ICNG sets might already be due for their midlife overhaul ;)

On Sprinter trains it might even take longer as SNG is also still being delivered in the "old" livery. So their midlife overhaul might end up overlapping with the overhaul of ICNG.
 

MarcVD

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First new tri voltage icng in test on the Belgian metals...
 

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