A few more notes that may provide some context for the video – before this topic moves off the front page:

The track speed on this line is 140 km/h (86 mph), however that’s difficult to maintain when there are trains in the blocks ahead.

140 km/h is also the top speed for the EMU trains that operate on this line. (The signal system most widely used in the Netherlands also has a top speed of 140 km/h. The Netherlands does have some new passenger high-speed lines which use a different signal system.)

Modern European freight cars have three basic speed designation categories: Code s is for a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph); code ss is for a top speed of 120 km/h (74 mph); and then there are some cars that fall in the s(s) category. That means they are code s (100 km/h) when loaded but can run at 120 km/h when empty. The latter applies to equipment used in some unit trains.

So, most of the freight trains shown in the video probably had a top speed of 100 km/h.

Most European electric locomotives intended primarily for freight use are geared for a top speed of 140 km/h.

Modern locomotive-hauled European passenger rolling stock used in international traffic mostly has design speeds of 200 km/h (124 mph) or higher, with dedicated high-speed trainsets much higher.

So, the diverted passenger trains would have been able to run at 140 km/h – if there was no slower traffic in front of them. (The volume of diverted traffic that day probably made it impractical to have faster trains pass slower trains in the larger stations – better to just keep the whole stream moving.)

Keep in mind that the above compilation did not include regularly scheduled EMU passenger trains on this line – unless they happed to appear in the shot of one of the diverted trains.

(The local passenger stop for the commuter “Sprinter” trains is in the upper left corner of the image frame.)

The live rail cam from which this compilation came

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSybfcAnjLs


is fun to watch even when the line is not super busy due to detour traffic. There is a six-hour time difference from the U.S. East Coast (where I am located), so when it’s midnight here, the sun is already up in the Netherlands. And, even at 2 or 3 am in the Netherlands, you’ll still see Dutch people riding their bicycles.

No, I am not from the Netherlands. I’ve only been there once for a few days in 1993. But I do follow European railroads in general – and find that the Dutch have a lot to offer with their dense rail network and huge volume of passenger traffic on most lines.

There are some eight-track main lines around major cities.

Though the country is basically flat, there are still some substantial rail grades at flyover junctions. Major railroad infrastructure includes some spectacular bridges and even some long tunnels under bodies or water or urban areas.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

-- Ernest