Train Cab Ride NL / Hoogeveen at High Speed! / Zwolle - Assen - Groningen / ICM / November 2023

Hi everyone! Welcome back for a brand new ride! A few months ago the construction works in Hoogeveen got finished. This means we can now pass through Hoogeveen with a maximum speed of 140km/h instead of 80km/h. More about this later! Today we take a wonderful autumn ride with rain, cloud and also sun on the route. Let's get our train from Zwolle to Groningen!

0:00 Zwolle
Today our train started at Zwolle. Due to an interruption in the train schedule in the morning our train could not depart from The Hague. Therefor an extra train was shunted towards the platform in Zwolle. So passengers from here still can get to Groningen on this time of the day. Many other passengers on the route had to take the next connection.

The same for the passengers coming from the Utrecht direction. Their train had a +7 minute delay. So we wanted to wait from them and depart with 3-4 minutes delay. But on the way to Zwolle the delay got bigger and bigger. At the start of the video you can hear me calling the train dispatcher. He lets us know we won’t wait any longer on the delayed train. Transfer passengers have to travel with the next connection to Groningen.

We depart with a 3.5 minute delay. Let’s get this train to its maximum speed ASAP so get back on schedule.

9:01 Dedemsvaart

14:45 Meppel
We won one minute back at this point in our journey. On the route between Zwolle and Meppel we have two intercity’s and two sprinters running right after each other. Therefor it’s no option to wait longer in Zwolle on the delayed intercity towards Leeuwarden. During the day it’s our train followed by the intercity to Leeuwarden, followed by the sprinter to Groningen and followed by the sprinter to Leeuwarden. All following up with 4 minutes time between trains. And that happens two times an hour in both directions.

23:23 Hoogeveen
Now let’s see how Hoogeveen is upgraded since the construction works there. As said: in the old situation the maximum speed was 80km/h. Now the curved track has been widened, signals are replaced and the speed has gone up to 140km/h! Enjoy probably your first speedy ride through Hoogeveen! At least the first time in 4K with 60FPS! :D

25:55 VAM aansluiting
29:51 Beilen

35:59 Assen (Slippery Tracks)
Back on schedule. We had absolutely no time let the train coast on the route to Assen. We drove to the max all the time. And now we’re back on time! But the tracks are slippery because of the weather and the leaves falling off the trees. The leaves are flattened on the tracks and a chemical substance is left on the tracks. When this gets wet it will be extremely slippery. The trains Anti Blocking System will prevent the train from getting flat spots on the wheels. But our braking distance will be longer as well. In this case not a problem. But when the driver knows the braking distance already is pretty short we will start slowing down earlier when slippery tracks are expected.

38:56 Reporting Slippery Tracks
After Assen we report the slippery tracks to the train dispatcher. The dispatcher makes sure the red lights at the station will be green when trains approach the station. If it would happen the train can’t stop on time: all cross overs will already be activated and road traffic is already awaiting the train. Safety first.

Also the dispatcher reports the slippery tracks to our drivers systems so we can see ahead if any tracks have been reported as slippery by other drivers.

47:14 Onnen
On the right side you will see Onnen appear. This is big shunting yard for trains from NS and other companies (mostly freight trains).

48:08 ATB Track Failure
On the point where we need to slow down to 130km/h we get a speed signal for 40km/h. From this moment on we must drive on sight until the next main light signal. In this case that light signal is pretty close already. That signal did not show any other light than the green one. Therefor we can end driving on sight from that moment on.

At little further on the route we report the ATB track failure to the Train Dispatcher.

49:17 Haren
51:41 Groningen Europapark

52:53 Groningen
Arriving at the final stop for this ride! As you can see Groningen is under construction as well. Big progress since the last time we've been here. But a lot of work to be done as well.

I hope you enjoyed the wonder view from the ICM cabin during a wonderful autumn day in The Netherlands. Rain, clouds, sun, colored trees and the high speed passing of Hoogeveen. Let me know what you think of it and spread the word to your friends and family! :D Cheers!

The Meaning of Signals
https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0017707/

More Ride Info
https://treinposities.nl/ritinfo/2023...

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