Tag Archives: Gemeente Vervoerbedrijf Amsterdam

Rail Photo of the Month: February 2026

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Alstom Series M5 159

Location: Jan van Galenstraat Station, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Operator of Vehicle: GVB
Date of Photo: May 31, 2016

Everyone is sharing how 2026 is the new 2016, so why not feature photos from ten years ago for the photos of the month?

We start in Amsterdam, which I visited for the second time in May of 2016.  At that time, the Series M5 trains, built by Alstom, were relatively new, having entered service about three years prior to my visit (June 24, 2013).  When I rode these trains, it was the first time I saw color coded lights by each doorway to indicate whether passengers should board or not (green for boarding, red for when the doors were about to close) as well as which side of the train the doors would open on.  Fitting in with the “2026 is the new 2016 theme”, this feature is now making its way to other trains around the world.  For example, New York’s newest trains, the R211s, have this feature but these cars only entered service in 2023, 10 years after Amsterdam’s M5 trains.  (The MPM-10 or Azur trains in Montreal entered service in February 2016 and also have this feature.)  The Series M5 trains also feature open gangways, and while this is becoming more common around the world, it wasn’t exactly a new concept, even 10 years ago.

I was impressed by the Series M5 when I rode it, and it is good to see some of its best features being incorporated into trains elsewhere around the world.

For more photos of the Amsterdam Metro, please click here.  

Rail Photo of the Month: July 2021

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Type 12G 820

Location: Dam Square, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Operator of Vehicle: Gemeente Vervoerbedrijf Amsterdam (GVB)
Date of Photo: June 3, 2008

Last week, I saw an article about the retirement of two tram types in Amsterdam.  The first tram type, the Type 12G, is seen here.  These were among the first low floor trams to operate in Amsterdam, although only the middle section of the tram was actually low floor.  They were also notable for having pedal controls, due to their design being derived from the HTM 3000 Series trams in The Hauge where pedal controls are used widely.  Like most Amsterdam trams, the Type 12G Trams were single ended and required a loop at each end of the line to turn around.  The Type 12G trams were retired without fanfare on January 2, 2021.

The Type 11G trams were much more unique.  They were double ended trams assigned exclusively to Line 5, which did not have a loop at its southern end for trams to turn around.  Line 5 shared the southern portion of its route with Route 51, a hybrid Metro and tram line, at which stations would have two platforms.  A high level platform would serve Route 51, and a low level platform adjacent to the high level platform would serve Route 5.  Due to construction projects in the vicinity of the Amsterdam Zuid railway station (where routes 5 and 51 merged), the connection between Line 51 and the hybrid route to the south was severed in 2019.  Therefore, it was decided to convert this line to one that would only serve low floor trams.  As part of this conversion project, new Type 15G trams were ordered from CAF to operate on both Route 5 and new Route 25 (the replacement for Route 51) that will replace the Type 11G trams.  Although the plan had been for these cars to be retired as of early 2021, some remain in service as of this writing.

A local museum, the Elektrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam, is acquiring one Type 11G and one Type 12G tram for preservation.  The Type 11G car that they are acquiring is #919, and the Type 12G car that will become a part of their collection is #820, seen here in 2008 at Dam Square in the center of the city.  I have a photo of 919 in my collection as well, which can be seen below.

For more photos of the Amsterdam Type 12G trams, please click here. 

For more photos of the Amsterdam Type 11G trams, please click here.