NS Sprinters: Flirt Flex

On 19 November 2025, the Dutch Railway, NS, announced the purchase of 36 new sprinter trains called the NS Flirt Flex. This will be the 5th generation of sprinter trains used by NS.

The tender for these trains began in July 2022 with a request for information (RFI) from European manufacturers. Given sprinter services stop at all stations, the train needed to have quick acceleration and deceleration with a top speed of 160km/h. There was also, interestingly, a requirement that the train could also be used for intercity services. I’ve noted a number of times NS using sprinter trains for intercity services but this was the first time it’s explicitly called out in the tender. The reasoning for this requirement was to meet flexible passenger growth and demand. I guess this is where the flex in the name comes from.

Swiss manufacturer, Stadler, has won the tender with their FLIRT design and will supply 36 trains, 18 four-part and 18 six-part sets, for a total capacity of 8000 passengers. There’s an option for further purchases, including ones compatible for use in Germany and Belgium. The original tender outlined that the purchase was to be made in 2024 and the first delivery by 2027. As is the case with most projects, there’s a slight delay. The purchase was made this month, and the first delivery is expected by 2030.

From the mock-ups shared by NS the train will have the flow-style, yellow and blue, livery used by intercity rolling stock. This comes as a surprise, given that NS sprinters are distinguishable by their white and yellow colours. Also, judging from the mock-ups, the train looks like the Stadler FLIRT 200, a variant designed for longer intercity journeys.

The Netherlands are no stranger to Stadler FLIRTs; NS themselves have previously purchased and used 58 FLIRTs for sprinter services mostly in South Holland and Brabant. You will also find them used by Arriva, Keolis, R-Net and Eurobahn for services in the county and across the border.

Internationally, Stadler has delivered 3000 FLIRTs; they’re everywhere, you can’t miss them.

NS has spent 400 million euros on this purchase, which is part of the 4 billion they’ve recently spent on new rolling stock. Most recently, the purchase of 60 DDNG trains from CAF and 109 ICNG from Alstom used on high-speed services within the Netherlands, Belgium and potentially Germany.

This purchase also comes after the final delivery of the SNG from CAF in 2023, the latest generation of the sprinter.