Over the years, the Dutch Railways have placed orders for various part-series of this type of train with rail vehicle producer Bombardier Transportation. The basic
design of the IRM double-decker originates from the beginning of the 1990s.
During each follow-up assignment, various modernisations were carried out on
the extended VIRM trains. The total VIRM fleet now consists of 178 trains with 873 carriages.
Strukton Rolling Stock was commissioned by Alstom Transport to engineer and
deliver prefabricated bundles of cables, along with the installation work and
testing of the carriages on site. The assignment was subsequently expanded to
include the delivery of various control and power supply panels. Throughout the
engineering process, Strukton Rolling Stock was closely involved in integrating
the different subsystems into the carriages.
An engine-driven VIRM train consists of four to five carriages and is a complex
body of safety systems and numerous subsystems divided across different
variations of carriage types mBvk1, ABv34, ABv5, ABv6, mBv7 and mBvk2. In
addition to the switch panels, kilometres of cabling are needed to control and
supply these systems with power.
Download project sheet New construction of VIRM trains.