NS starts refurbishment and exterior redesign of VIRM-2/3

[DanielB]

Today NS announced it will start with refurbishment of the VIRM-2/3 trainsets, which are the four- and six-car double-decker trainsets delivered between 2003 and 2005.
The refurbishment of these double-decker trains will be similar to the recently completed refurbishment of VIRM-1 (built from 1994-1996), although there will be several differences: the trains will get slightly different seats and so-called "loveseats" and "stits" in the vestibule area. VIRM-2/3 will also be the first Intercity-stock that is equipped with power outlets in both first and standard class.

The biggest change will however be the exterior of the train: the refurbished trains will get a completely new design although the colour scheme remains yellow and blue. Below video (in Dutch) shows the prototype which is due to enter service in May 2021...

 

[Bletchleyite]

Looks good. Despite being vinyl seats and flooring, the colour choice makes it look welcoming and homely.

Wonder why a UK TOC hasn't tried the "coffee shop style" wood-effect lino? It's common on buses, particularly ones that have had anything to do with Mr Stenning.

 

[DanielB]

The floors don't have a wood-style lino but are actually black (in contrast to VIRMm-1 which does have wood-style lino). It's a bit confusing in the video, but most of the time you see the paper that's used to protect the floor coverings from damage, in the close-up of the power outlets the black floors are clearly visible.
This does fit in a trend at NS: they've tried light coloured floor coverings several times now, but after some time they notice that they should have cleaned them more often and switch back to dark colours again. Just a way of "hiding" that the floors are actually filthy

Wood style lino is indead quite common on buses, also in The Netherlands, but most bus operators here have conveniently chosen more dark brown wood-effect lino that's less prone to soiling.

 

[CC 72100]

Interesting the amount of 'things' (0:22 - 0:45) (chargers, tip-up seats, backrests) in the vestibule/doorway areas, whereas the trend in the UK is to de-clutter these areas as much as possible (the most recent GWR 158 refurbishment, for example, saw the vestibule tip up seats removed) to get people 'into' the coach as quickly as possible and discourage people staying in the area (and affecting passenger flows on/off at later stations).

 

[JonasB]

Thank you for sharing that, looks great!

 

[DanielB]

@CC 72100 Although standing passengers in the vestibule area can have an effect on passenger flow, that is less likely to cause major problems taking the nature of the Dutch intercity network into account. VIRM is mostly used on the IC-corridors which pass through the Randstad area: Alkmaar/Hoorn - Amsterdam - Utrecht - Eindhoven/Arnhem, Schiphol - Utrecht - Eindhoven/Arnhem and Amsterdam - Haarlem - The Hague - Rotterdam. As there are quite a lot of Intercity-stops in the Randstad, these services see a lot of relatively short journeys. As a consequence commuters prefer to stand in the vestibule area at peak times as they're getting off the train at the next stop anyway.

Services with more long-distance journeys (like the IC services to Leeuwarden, Groningen and Enschede) are still dominated by ICM (mixed with DDZ), which has smaller and more empty vestibule areas.