| Series | DE-3 111-152 | |
| Motor type | 1960 to 1980 > RUHB 1616 | |
| 1980 to 2001 > MGO-175 BSHR | ||
| Traction | Electric | |
| Power | RUHB 1616: 746kW (1000hp) | |
| MGO-175 BSHR: 783kW (1050hp) | ||
| Axle formation | Bo-Bo+2-2+2-2 | |
| Wheel diameter | 950 mm | |
| Length of train set | 74.43 m | |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h | |
| Weight of train set | 136 ton | |
| Number built | 42 | |
| Built by | Werkspoor/Heemaf/Smit | |
| Jaar entered service | 1960-1963 |
The first 15 Plan U’s were built to replace the old 1934 diesel-threes, and entered service in 1960. But because of the success of the Plan U’s, 27 more were built, so that in 1963 there were 42 train sets.
The Plan U was based on the Mat’54 ‘Hondekop’ (dog-head).
The construction is lighter than the ‘Hondekoppen’, so that they have better acceleration. It takes 3 minutes to get the train set to 100 km/h, not particularly good for railways with frequent stops.
The train sets have undergone various improvements and rebuilds, but the biggest change was the introduction of the ATB system (Automatic Train Brake) between 1965 and 1967, and the swap out of the diesel engines between 1980 and 1984. The Plan U's were painted in the red colours from 1960, but were repainted into the now familiar yellow between 1968 and 1973.
The Plan U's mostly ride the stop- and fast-train routes on local diesel lines, predominantly in the east of the Netherlands. They're maintained in Zwolle and Tilburg.
In 2001, 19 Plan U's were refurbished again in Tilburg and Haarlem so that these 40 year old trainsets could get another 5 years of use. All the others in the series were scrapped.
The NS Plan U is available in 2 colour schemes as part of the same download:
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NS Plan U | This is the familiar yellow and blue colour scheme. Three-coach Plan U's can still be seen operating on some parts of the NS network. | |||
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NS Plan U Diesel-red | This three-coach Plan U is painted in the original diesel-red NS colours. | |||