Dutch operator NS is to begin a major overhaul of its double-deck Verlengd InterRegio Matrieel (VIRM) trains this summer.
The project will be delivered by NS subsidiary NedTrain from July this year, with the first of the refurbished electrical-multiple units (EMU) to be delivered back to the network in 2016.
NS has said the overhauled VIRM fleet will be 20 per cent more efficient through the installation of LED lighting an energy-saving HVAC system. The refurbishment will also included new seating, passenger information screens and onboard Wi-Fi connection.
A total of 416 carriages – the first of which were delivered to NS in the mid 1990s – will be upgraded between 2014 and 2020 at NedTrain’s Haarlem depot.
