4K Cab Ride NL Leiden Centraal – Schiphol Airport – Almere Centrum / IC 1859 / 04-01-2018

Train Driver’s View on the intercity service running from Leiden Central Station to Almere. The original ride takes the train from The Hague to Leeuwarden, but we got to run it from Leiden and after our arrival in Almere it was too dark for the recording. On the 4th of January we got to run a DDZ with 8 carriages. The weather is cloudy with a change of rain. Temperatures are above normal for this time of year.

It’s 16.17 (4.17pm) and we depart right on the dot from Leiden Centraal. You can’t see our light signal, but it gives us a green flickering light meaning we may depart with a maximum of 40km/h. At the end of the platform you can see a light signal with a flickering green light and an 8. This means our speed from that point is maximum 80km/h as soon as the whole train has passed by. About a kilometer ahead you’ll see the 160km/h sign (green sign next to the track) officially giving us the 140km/h Track speed and with that our maximum speed of 140km/h.

We speed up the train to its maximum speed and keep it like that until a little before Nieuw Vennep. From there we let the weight of the train do the rest of the work until our first stop Schiphol Airport. Between Sassenheim and Nieuw-Vennep you can see the high way on the left of the train. Now realize this: our train uses about 2.7kWh/km. Take the price of that and split is over the travelers in the train. Now compare that to all the cars on the road. Conclusion: it’s so much better for the environment to travel by train. And in the train you have lots of time to check your Facebook or do some work related stuff. So many ups for the train!

On our arrival in Schiphol we need to make sure our train stops at the right sign (8 carriages). There are computer screens on the platform showing where the doors of the train will be located on this train so people can already wait for the train at the right position. Awesome system. Works for almost all train already. It’s still work in progress but it helps a lot!

After we’ve departed perfectly on time from Schiphol we take the train to Amsterdam South and to Almere Centrum. Right after Diemen Zuid we get behind a delayed intercity service (+2). This is the intercity service running between Amsterdam Central and Almere Centrum. Because of this we need to slow down our train.

Now, be aware of the fact that we sometimes pass a yellow signal (40km/h) but at the moment we pass it the light turns green or yellow with a number allowing a higher speed. In this case the driver must take the train back to 40km/h until you’re sure the signal ahead allows a higher speed. Beside that there are some other rules before we may accelerate, but that is too far into the books.

With +2 minutes we pass by Weesp. From that point on we can take the train to its maximum speed again and we’re back on schedule as soon as we pass by Almere Muziekwijk. But then… we run to a red light just before Almere Centrum. This is because the intercity service from Amsterdam couldn’t get the train with its full length on the platform meaning our track is still occupied. This happened because there was an empty train coming from Lelystad Opstel to be combined with the train from Amsterdam. But the driver coming from Lelystad stopped the train too far into the station. This happened because there wasn’t enough communication to the drivers about this task at that time. I reported this and now the signal man gives the driver from Lelystad a call most of the time to inform him or her.

I uploaded the ride from Lelystad Opstel a few weeks ago by the way. Here’s where you can find it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32FQ75-fZVE.

After waiting for a few minutes the train at platform 3 in Almere departs to the shunt tracks and our path is free to arrive with a five minute delay in Almere Centrum. I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride and I wish you all a good weekend! Cheers!

Explanation speed limits:
ATB Track Speed: Max ATB speed given to the train from the track.
Vmax: Max speed for that particular part of the track.
Vlimit: Max speed given by light signals or temporary speed limits on the tracks.

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Видео 4K Cab Ride NL Leiden Centraal – Schiphol Airport – Almere Centrum / IC 1859 / 04-01-2018 канала Machinist Stefan