AnsaldoBreda V250
Well, I guess we need to talk about this short-lived high speed train before the world forgets her. Unfortunately at this point I’m quite sure that nobody will miss her either, the much delayed and defect plagued AnsaldoBreda V250 electric multiple unit. Being an AnsaldoBreda, maybe some railfans aren’t surprised that they usually come with problems (the San Francisco Muni Metro is a good example).
The V250 was ordered by the Dutch and Belgian railways (NS and SNCB) to operate the cross border Fyra service. The order went through in 2004 and service was initially expected to begin in 2007. The process was nowhere near smooth. Due to a number of factors including a delayed European Train Control System specification and technical defects, the Fyra service did not start operating until December 2012. However, the tragedy of the V250 did not end just there, she was withdrawn from service in January 2013 due to serious mechanical failures. The orders from both railroads were canceled by June 2013.
The reason the V250 was chosen was because AnsaldoBreda promised a 250 km/h trainset that was cheaper than 220 km/h Siemens or Alstom products. In practice however, we learn time and time again, that cheaper can very seldom be better. I feel that it’s a little unfortunate though, that the life of such a refreshing looking EMU with design input from the famous Pininfarina ended on such lack of passion in the rest of the processes of design and construction. More information of the V250 EMU can be found here.
The V250 was ordered by the Dutch and Belgian railways (NS and SNCB) to operate the cross border Fyra service. The order went through in 2004 and service was initially expected to begin in 2007. The process was nowhere near smooth. Due to a number of factors including a delayed European Train Control System specification and technical defects, the Fyra service did not start operating until December 2012. However, the tragedy of the V250 did not end just there, she was withdrawn from service in January 2013 due to serious mechanical failures. The orders from both railroads were canceled by June 2013.
The reason the V250 was chosen was because AnsaldoBreda promised a 250 km/h trainset that was cheaper than 220 km/h Siemens or Alstom products. In practice however, we learn time and time again, that cheaper can very seldom be better. I feel that it’s a little unfortunate though, that the life of such a refreshing looking EMU with design input from the famous Pininfarina ended on such lack of passion in the rest of the processes of design and construction. More information of the V250 EMU can be found here.
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