The Sprinter Lighttrain or SLT is an

Electric Multiple Unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

(EMU)

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

type operated by the

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. They were built from 2007 to 2012 by Bombardier (2400) and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

(2600). It is the successor of the Sprinter SGM train type.

Names

* Sprinter Lighttrain * Sprinter * SLT * S70 or S100

General information

The SLT is designed to replace the Mat '64 trains from the 1960s and 1970s. The first 35 sets were ordered in 2005 and the first set, 2402 arrived in January 2008. The second set, 2602 arrived in February 2008 and both were used on test runs. In September 2007 NS ordered a further 64 sets, and these started arriving in the Netherlands in mid-2009. In 2009 a further 32 were ordered. The trains use regenerative braking, which can feed energy back into the contact wire when they brake. The trains are based on the DB Class 425 design, but made to meet the demands of the Sprinter. They use Jacobs bogie, which allow for thin and wide gangways between each coach. The units were built in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

(2400) and

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

(2600).

Modernisation

From 2018 onwards, all units are being retrofitted with on-board toilets and a special sliding step for wheelchair users. The toilet retrofit is conducted at the Talbot Services GmbH workshops in

; of which 2 units are in the workshops at any one time. The expectations are that these modernisations will be completed in 2021.

Use of Sprinter Lighttrains

The SLT is primarily for the Randstad area, around the four main cities (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

). They are used on stopping services, designed for routes where stations are close together and for this they feature many wide doors and fast acceleration. After many test runs without passengers, they were put into service on 23 February 2009 between Den Haag Centraal -

Gouda Gouda may refer to: * Gouda, South Holland, a city in the Netherlands ** Gouda (pottery), style of pottery manufactured in Gouda ** Gouda cheese, type of cheese originally made in and around Gouda ** Gouda railway station * Gouda, Western Cape, a s ...

Utrecht Centraal Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for the city of Utrecht in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. ...

, two months later than planned. Passengers were happy with the comfort, no step between the train and the platform and the fresh interior, however the trains lack a toilet. Problems occurred, especially when there was a four-car and a six-car unit coupled together, so the test was stopped temporarily on 1 May 2009. The test started again on 21 September 2009, outside of the peak hours. Again there were problems, and the delivery of sets was stopped for the time being. With the December 2009 timetable change, sets were put in again between Utrecht and Den Haag, as well as between Gouda and Rotterdam. In February 2010, the delivery of new sets was restarted, with four sets arriving each week. In May 2010 SLT sets also began operating between

Rotterdam Centraal Rotterdam Centraal railway station () is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, ...

and Hoek van Holland Strand and on 24 May 2010 also between

and Baarn via Soest. In December 2010 more than 2/3 of the SLT's failed after snowfall, leaving the NS to revert to the old trains that had recently been stored out of services.

Services operated

The SLT's are regularly used on these services in the current timetable (2017). They can sometimes appear on other services.

Accidents and incidents

*On 28 November 2011, a Sprinter collided with a stationary Sprinter at . Three passengers were injured. *On 21 April 2012, unit 2658 was one of the two trains involved in a head-on collision near station.

Gallery

File:Sprinter LighTTrain 1e klas.JPG, 1st Class seating File:Sprinter LighTTrain 2e klas.JPG, 2nd Class seating File:Sprinter LighTTrain 2e klas 3.JPG, 2nd Class seating File:Sprinter LighTTrain Cabine2.jpg, Cab View File:Sprinter LighTTrain Display.JPG, Display Screens on SLT File:Balkon Sprinter LighTTrain 2e klas 2.JPG, Balcony area of 2nd Class seats File:NS 2945 and 2602.JPG, SLT and original Sprinter together at Amersfoort File:NS 2401 Schiedam Centrum.jpg, 2401 in service at Schiedam Centrum File:2x SLT at Baarn.jpg , Two SLT multiple units at Baarn railway station

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprinter Lighttrain Electric multiple units of the Netherlands 1500 V DC multiple units of the Netherlands Siemens multiple units Bombardier Transportation multiple units