Originally Posted by
stimpy
Nope. Soon they will have a higher speed train in operation, at something like 170kph. But the real high speed TGV-like trains are two or more years away. There was never a chance of having high speed trains on this route this year which is a fact that could have been easily discovered by the tiniest bit of investigative journalism.
It's not about technical issues. It is pure politics. Technology is an excuse often used by politicians.
Sorry, Stimpy, but TGV is correct. The HSL-Zuid line from the Netherlands will have a max. speed of 300km/h when it reaches full operational capacity next year. At the moment, due to the technical/logistical challenges mentioned (the wrong rolling stock was ordered, among other problems) the trains are currently limited to 160km/h on the line (though as of this week they are still only running tests on the Amsterdam-Rotterdam part of the line, without carrying passengers), though this already is much faster than the current Dutch IC trains.
http://www.hslzuid.nl/hsl/uk/Transport/index.jsp
I don't know why you think the delays are "political". There is nothing politically to be gained by stalling this project - if anything, the Dutch are embarrassed at the delays on this project.
To reply to an earlier post of yours - this is BRILLIANT news for customers. International rail routes will be deregulated from 2010 onwards - this is not comparable to what happened in the UK, where the train companies were privatised. No-one is "taking over" the train companies - it's more like an "open skies" deal where existing companies, and new ventures like the Air France-KLM/Veolia project, can offer services that currently are not possible. More choice, more value, more competition.