NETHERLANDS. The 18 Stadler Wink multiple-units ordered by Arriva for use around Groningen and Leeuwarden began entering regular service on April 12.
Arriva was the launch customer for Stadler’s Wandelbarer Innovativer Nahverkehrs-Kurzzug (‘convertible, innovative short train for local transport’) placing a €170m order in 2017.
Designed for secondary routes in western and central Europe, the Wink has a configurable modular structure based on Stadler’s Flirt family and a central power module enabling a range of combinations of diesel, electric and battery power.
The 140 km/h Arriva units are fitted with Deutz engines fuelled using hydrotreated vegetable oil that is no longer usable for the food chain. Batteries store regenerated braking energy to enable the engines to be shut down when idling at stations, and there is provision for future operation using 1·5 kV DC electrification as and when the lines on which they operate are fully or partially wired.
Arriva said the new trains would be quieter and more comfortable than its older units. External indicators show where seats are available, and the interiors feature a real-time information system, charging points, LED lighting, a quiet zone, recycling bins and a defibrillator located opposite the toilet.
The floors are at a similar height to most platforms to permit easy boarding. Infrastructure manager ProRail is to modify the platform heights at Harlingen Haven and Deinum this year, with six more stations to follow in 2022.
The trainsets are maintained by Stadler at its depot at Leeuwarden which has been extended to accommodate the new units.
