FYRA - Connecting four cities or solving four problems?
The Netherlands has been lately investing a lot of public money to improve public rail connections. The key initiative, that of connecting the cities of Brüssel (Brussels, in Belgium), Antwerpen, Rotterdam and Amsterdam with a high speed rail link and so called bullet trains has been a tremendous series of constant problems or rather, disasters. The trains that are intended to connect these cities are named FYRA, which is a Swedish language word meaning four and which points to the four cities to be connected.  
The project relies on two major parts, both of which have been in trouble. The first part is a new high speed rail track line to the south from Amsterdam called HSL Zuid or high speed line south. In contrast to the old technology of low DC current and manual signalling, this ambitious project was supposed to be one of the very first European modern high spped rail links using an effective 25 kV AC current and also using a totally digital train control and security system called ETCS level 2. To make a long story short, yes, it is modern technology, and yes it would be effective, if it did work. But it does not - or did not, for a long time.

The second crucial part of the project was that of the FYRA trains. No existing high speed train type was good enough for the Dutch. They placed the order on the Italian manufacturer Ansaldo-Breda, which promised a totally new train type called the Albatross, a funny looking, but fast creature, the opponents of which say that it looks like the face of the world famous comics creature Donald Duck.

Well? HSL Zuid was drastically delayed and the costs kept piling up. First it was opened, then closed again and then reopened. Even today it is very little used. Traffic was in the meantime handled along the old existing rail lines with old and outdated coaches and Dutch or Belgian old DC powered electric locomotives at both ends as a 'sandwich'. Especially the new ETCS level 2 (European train control system: a new proposed Pan-European standard) caused problems and the software systems of all locomotives accepted to run on ETCS 2 had to be renewed - quite a costly exercise. 
Today, the physical HSL Zuid line is finally existing, but only a handful of locomotives have an OK to use it. Remember, it uses 25 kV AC, not the usual DC currents of the Netherlands or Belgium, neither the usual 16,6 kV of neighbouring Germany. This means in practise that only the very latest and expensive four different electrical systems capable locomotives can handle it ? that is, only the Siemens made Baureihe (class) 189 of the EuroSprinter locomotive family or the Br 185.500 / Br 186 of the TRAXX family of the Bombardier, plus a couple of older cargo diesels specifically fitted for ETCS 2. That's not really good news. Br 189 and Br 186 are both cargo locomotives, not really designed for high speed passenger train traffic. 

The Albatross or the 'real' FYRA of Ansaldo-Breda is badly, badly delayed time and time again and there's still no sign of an OK to start using it in public traffic anytime soon. The track record of Ansaldo-Breda is especially bad - we are referring for example here to the endless problems with the Danish IC3 trains lately. Among others. It's Italian. It's fancy. It has different looks and design. But it doesn't work. The very first units are in testing now. But this has been the case already for more than a year. The only difference is, now they are testing inside Holland, not outside. According to the remarkably optimistic current plans of the Dutch national train operator NS, the Albatross trains could now start their commercial operation in the spring of 2010, which still looks like highly questionable. (McKey: I just read this would be dealyed till the end of year 2010). 

Currently the HSL Zuid line is already in use and the name FYRA is painted on the sides of some trains. But these trains are composed of old and outdated coaches, now with only a new red and white painting and newer seats. They have leased four system cargo locomotives of the TRAXX Br 186 type leading them and their tickets carry a fairly hefty surplus price. But very few people want to use them. No wonder. How much extra would you want to pay to be able to sit in a cargo train painted red, which is only a few minutes faster than the normal express trains? This looks like the beginnings of the flop of the century.

Ilkka Siissalo, 30.11.09