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Intercity Direct, abbreviated to ICD, is a Dutch category of higher-speed train service, operating on the HSL-Zuid and connecting Amersfoort Vathorst / Lelystad to Amsterdam Zuid, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam Centraal and Breda. Some services cross the border with Belgium, extending to Brussels-South. It is part of NS International.
In December 2013, the former Fyra was rebranded to Intercity Direct.
The Intercity Direct train service uses the HSL-Zuid which went into service 7 September 2009. [1] An hourly domestic service branded Fyra by operator NS Hispeed was started on 7 September 2009 between Amsterdam and Rotterdam using TRAXX-locomotives and ICR-carriages. Initially the service was hourly and weekdays only. On 12 April 2010 service expanded to Saturdays and Sundays. As of 4 October 2010, frequency increased to twice hourly. Service was extended to Breda on 3 April 2011. [2]
An international service also known as Fyra between Amsterdam and Brussels started 9 December 2012 using V250 rolling stock of AnsaldoBreda. From 17 January 2013, this service had to be pulled due to undercarriage damage caused by high velocity with ice and snow. As of June 2013, international Fyra service has been permanently suspended by both Dutch and Belgian railways. [3]
Due to the perceived bad reputation of the Fyra brand, the domestic service rebranded into Intercity Direct as of December 2013. [4]
As of April 2023, ICNG (Intercity New Generation) units have started replacing the locomotive-hauled services. [5] The ICNG trains are capable of operating at speeds up to 200 km/h. [6] [7]
As of December 2024, Intercity Direct will no longer stop at Amsterdam Centraal due to the station's renovation. Instead, the service stops at Amsterdam Zuid and continues to Amersfoort Vathorst / Lelystad. [8] [9]
Intercity Direct offers the following services:
| Class | Illustration | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| Class 186 Traxx |  | Locomotive | 100 | 160 | NS 65 loco's NMBS 12 loco's | Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam - Breda | Leased locomotives 2006-2008 NS owned locomotives (186 001 till 186 045) 2014-2016 |
| ICRm (Prio) |  | Carriage | 100 | 160 | 38 sets (7 or 9 wagons) | Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam - Breda Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam | 1980-1988 |
| ICNG |  | Electric multiple unit | 125 | 200 | Amsterdam - Schiphol - Rotterdam - Breda (initially) | 2016-present | |
A supplemental fare is required for any trip on the Intercity Direct that includes the Schiphol Airport–Rotterdam stretch. Single-use supplements cost €2.90 during peak hours and €1.74 during off-peak hours (2023) regardless of the class. [10]
This supplement can be paid by touching an OV-Chipcard or Contactless payment to a "supplement pillar," which can be found on platforms from which Intercity Direct trains depart. These pillars are similar to OV-Chipcard validation machines, but contain a red "Toeslag" label. A bi-lingual sign indicates for which train the supplement is required. If the supplement was mistakenly paid, touching an OV-Chipcard to the same device within 30 seconds will cancel the purchase. [10]
Journeys between Schiphol Airport railway station and Amsterdam Centraal, or between Rotterdam Centraal and Breda, can be made without paying the supplement. [11] International tickets for the trains which continue to Belgium include the supplement in their cost. [10]
Nederlandse Spoorwegen is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is the busiest in the European Union, and the third busiest in the world after Switzerland and Japan.
The HSL-Zuid, is a 125 kilometre-long Dutch high-speed rail line running between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda, North Brabant. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway. Originally scheduled to be in service by 2007, the first public operations began on 7 September 2009, after a ceremony on 6 September.
Amsterdam Zuid is a railway station situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands. For a number of years, it was named Amsterdam Zuid WTC, in reference to the neighbouring World Trade Center Amsterdam. During 2006, in conjunction with the rapid development of the area surrounding the station, the station was enlarged and the reference to the WTC was formally dropped from the name.
NS International, formerly NS Hispeed, is a passenger railway operator based in the Netherlands that operates international intercity and high-speed connections to several European cities. It is a subsidiary of the Dutch state-owned railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
Belgium's high-speed rail network provides mostly international connections from Brussels to France, Germany and The Netherlands. The high-speed network began with the opening of the HSL 1 to France in 1997, and since then high-speed lines have been extended towards Germany with HSL 2 in 2002, HSL 3 from Liège to the German border in 2009, and HSL 4 from Antwerp to the Dutch border in 2009.
Rail transport in the Netherlands uses a dense railway network which connects nearly all major towns and cities. There are more train stations than there are municipalities in the Netherlands. The network totals 3,223 route km (2,003 mi) on 6,830 kilometres (4,240 mi) of track; a line may run both ways, or two lines may run on major routes. Three-quarters of the lines have been electrified.
Den Haag HS, an abbreviation of the original name Den Haag Hollands Spoor, is the oldest train station in The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands, located on the Amsterdam–Haarlem–Rotterdam railway. It is the second main station in The Hague and, unlike The Hague Central Station, it is not a terminus station. The name of the station is derived from the former Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HIJSM) which was the first Dutch railway company.
Dordrecht is a railway station in Dordrecht, Netherlands located on the Breda–Rotterdam railway and the Elst–Dordrecht railway. The station was opened on 1 January 1872, when the railway line between Rotterdam and Antwerp was opened. On 16 July 1885, the railway line from Dordrecht to Gorinchem was opened. The neo-Renaissance railway station building is located to the south of the city centre. Dordrecht is now an important railway station on the Nederlandse Spoorwegen railway network. The services to Gorinchem and Geldermalsen are operated by Arriva.
The Trenitalia ETR 700, originally NS Hispeed V250, is a high-speed train designed by Pininfarina and built by AnsaldoBreda originally for NS International and NMBS/SNCB to operate on the Fyra service, a high speed train between Amsterdam and Brussels with a branch to Breda on the newly built HSL-Zuid in the Netherlands and its extension HSL 4 in Belgium.
Amersfoort Centraal is the main railway station in Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The station was an important link between the western part of the Netherlands and the north and east of the country until December 2012 when the Hanzelijn opened.
Breda railway station is a railway station in Breda in North Brabant, Netherlands. It is situated on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, the Roosendaal–Breda railway and the Breda–Eindhoven railway.
Breda-Prinsenbeek is a railway station in the city of Breda. It is located on the Breda–Rotterdam railway, parallel to the A16 motorway.
Rotterdam Blaak is a railway and metro station in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Located in the centre of the city, not far from the cube houses and the Markthal, the station is served by trains operating on the Breda–Rotterdam railway between Rotterdam Centraal and Dordrecht.
The NS timetable 2010 is the timetable of Nederlandse Spoorwegen that was effective on 13 December 2009. This is the train plan for all of the Netherlands.
Fyra was an international high-speed rail service between the Netherlands and Belgium using the AnsaldoBreda V250 train. The service used the HSL-Zuid and HSL 4 railway lines to connect Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels. Continuous technical difficulties suspended the service, and it was eventually permanently halted due to reliability and safety concerns.
High-speed rail service in the Netherlands started on 13 December 2009 with the dedicated HSL-Zuid line that connects the Randstad via Brussels to the European high-speed rail network. In later years improved traditional rail sections were added to the high-speed network. Proposals for more dedicated high-speed lines were deemed too costly; plans for the HSL-Oost to Germany were mothballed and instead of the Zuiderzeelijn the less ambitious Hanzelijn was built to enable future high-speed service between the northern provinces and the Randstad.
The Amsterdam–Schiphol railway is an important 17 kilometre long railway line in the Netherlands that connects Amsterdam with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and allows trains to continue to Leiden, The Hague, and Rotterdam.
The Lage Landen Lijn was a proposed international rail service between The Hague and Brussels, which was to be introduced on 15 December 2013.
Schiphol Airport station is a major passenger railway station in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, beneath the terminal complex of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. The station's six platforms are accessible via twelve escalators and three elevators located in the main concourse of the airport. The original station was opened in 1978, and the current station in 1995. It connects the airport to Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands, as well as to Belgium and France.
The Intercity Nieuwe Generatie, or ICNG is an electric multiple unit trainset of the Dutch Railways. In addition to supplementing the existing intercity rolling stock, it will replace the Bombardier TRAXX locomotives and Intercityrijtuig coaches on the high-speed line between Amsterdam and Belgium. This will provide the connection that was originally planned to be provided by the Fyra service, which was cancelled in 2013.
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