RET - Rotterdam local transport company - May 13, 2009

The Annnual General Meeting was held at the offices of the RET (Rotterdam local transport company) who generously had offered their meeting facilities. After closing of the AGM the RET offered an interesting afternoon program including a tram-ride in a new Bombardier train in Rotterdam. On a daily basis the RET, with its 3.000 employees, transports around 600.000 passengers. Presently they provide some 34 bus lines, 8 tram lines, 2 subway lines and the RandstadRail/Erasmusline from Rotterdam to the central railway station in The Hague.

In order to guarantee a smooth operation they deploy 220 buses, 120 trams and 160 subway trains. For more information please see RET. The tram-ride took the guests the RET’s maintenance facilities, where a tour of the premises had been organized. Here the trains (which run some 120.000 km annually) are serviced and cleaned. And cleaning is not done in the same way we wash and vacuum our car! In today´s society the RET is constantly confronted with graffiti, which needs to be removed on an ongoing basis.

The event was sponsored by one of the NCCC’s Patron Members, Bombardier Transportation. The RET is currently replacing all their existing material with state-of-the-art BOMBARDIER FLEXITY Swift RSG3 type trains. For both RandstadRail as well as the Erasmus line and Caland line. The three-module light rail vehicles have a total length of 42 meters with a passenger capacity of 270. Passengers benefit from ventilation and air-conditioning systems, extremely low noise levels, comfortable seats, a modern information system as well as an attractive and spacious design. Video surveillance inside the vehicle increases passenger safety. For more information, please visit Bombardier.