NS buys 36 new Stadler Flirt Flex trains for local, intercity, and international services

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen or NS, the Netherlands‘ state railway, ordered 36 new Stadler Flirt Flex, Sprinter in NS terminology, trains for over €400 million. Unlike the current Sprinter trains, the ultramodern trains, named Flirt Flex, will once again have the classic yellow-blue NS livery. The first trains are expected to enter Dutch service in 2030.

SICILY | Catania

March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the…

BELGIUM | NMBS / SNCB confirms CAF as preferred bidder for AM30

On 23 July 2025, Belgium‘s state-owned railway company NMBS / SNCB has reaffirmed Spanish train manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) as the “preferred bidder” for its major train order, despite ongoing criticism from trade unions and politicians over the impact on local employment. 

Spanish CAF to provide trains for NMBS / SNCB AM30

Train manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) from Spain is said to have won a major contract to build hundreds of new AM30 / MR30 electric multiple units (EMU) for Belgian railway company NMBS / SNCB. The CAF Civity Duo then could be a base for the AM30.