The VVRV (Veiligheid en Vakmanschap Rail Vervoer) is the examination institute for railway safety personnel in the Netherlands, operating under mandate from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. All train driver candidates in the country, regardless of which operator employs them or which training organisation prepared them, are required to pass their licensing examinations through the VVRV. The examination programme is defined by the Ministeriële Regeling Examenprogramma Machinist, which incorporates the requirements of European Directive 2007/59/EC and the TSI OPE, and includes both theoretical and simulation modules.
Transurb is pleased to announce that the VVRV has selected and accepted a Nano simulator for use in its official train driver licensing examinations. This delivery marks Transurb’s first project in the Dutch railway market.
Simulating the Dutch operating environment
The VVRV’s simulation examination is designed to assess train driver competence (the correct application of procedures in normal and degraded operating conditions) rather than familiarity with a specific rolling stock. To meet that standard, the simulator needed to reproduce the Dutch railway operating environment with precision, with a train that behaves realistically without being tied to any particular fleet.
For that purpose, the Nano simulator delivered to the VVRV includes a generic train with realistic driving dynamics, operating within a signalling environment that covers the full range of systems candidates are assessed on, as defined by the Ministeriële Regeling Examenprogramma Machinist and the Operationele Regels ERTMS Nederland:
A portable simulator for a national examination network
Beyond its simulation capabilities, the Nano’s compact and portable format opens up new possibilities for the VVRV in how they organise their examinations. Rather than requiring all candidates to travel to Zoetermeer, the VVRV can bring the simulator to them, to training centres, depots or operator sites across the Netherlands.
For a national examination institute serving candidates from across the country, that flexibility is a meaningful operational advantage.
Full autonomy over examination content
The examination landscape evolves: regulatory updates, changing operational procedures, new ERTMS lines entering service. The Nano simulator is delivered with a set of edition tools that allow the VVRV to build and update their content independently:
Together, these tools give the VVRV full autonomy over their simulation content (new examination routes, updated scenarios, regulatory changes) all manageable in-house, at their own pace.
A new chapter for train driver certification in the Netherlands
The Dutch railway network is in the process of transitioning from ATB to ERTMS, a complex and long-term undertaking that is presenting real challenges for the sector. As new ERTMS-equipped lines progressively enter service, the training and certification demands that come with them are already taking shape.
Every driver operating on those lines needs to be examined and certified on those systems. The VVRV, as the national examination institute, is at the centre of that process for the starting drivers who have tot get their EU license, and it is a genuine pleasure to contribute to it. We are grateful for the trust and collaborative spirit the VVRV team brought to this project.
