Belgian Railways Classical twin EMUs
NMBS/SNCB Classical twin EMUs were electric multiple unit trains operated by the National [Railway Company of Belgium]. They were the standard equipment for local trains under the Belgian standard 3000 Volts DC overhead lines, until they gradually replaced by the Class 08 Desiro Mainline EMU's starting from the early 21st century.
Classical EMUs were originally painted in dark green, with small yellow stripes surrounding the front lights. As those were considered insufficiently visible, the front door was also painted in yellow and the stripes were enlarged.
A subset of 22 EMUs was built with stainless steel body instead of carbon steel. This remains a one shot trial as the next generations were built with carbon steel bodies.
Another subset of 6 EMUs, built in 1970, were specifically adapted for airport service, with more space between seats and a huge luggage compartment. Although they were operated by railways staff, access was restricted to travellers holding valid SABENA airline tickets with a dedicated platform provided at Brussels Central Station. A blue paint scheme was also chosen to identify those EMUs. These units were retired in 2013.
In 1984, the Belgian Railways introduced a new transportation plan based on fixed-interval timetables called "Plan IC-IR." A new paint scheme was applied, based on a burgundy red color with a large white line surrounding the entire coaches or EMUs below the windows.
In 1999, classical EMUs built in the seventies were extensively refurbished, the program included comfort upgrade and repainting in the light gray livery with blue and red lines under the windows. Few units were still in the older green delivery when refurbished. The last 40 to be refurbished units received extra features for suburban "CityRail" services.
Withdrawal
The first withdrawals of the classical EMUs took place at the end of the 1970s.In 2013, a hundred non-refurbished units were scrapped, after many of the Desiro Mainline Class 08 entered into revenue service.
The last unit was retired in a farewell run held on 14 December 2014. Unit 660, which was part of the farewell run, will be preserved at Train World in Schaerbeek.