Eurocity Direct (ECD)

The Dutch rail operator, NS, is now using these brand new trains on the cross-border high speed route between the stations in Antwerp and Schiphol.

On this route they have a maximum speed of 200 km/h, so they don't fall into the 250 km/h + category, which is the minimum speed achieved by purpose-built high speed trains on other European high speed lines.
Though that speed is significantly higher than the 145 km/h maximum speed that Dutch IC trains travel at away from the high speed route.

On these trains the access to the 1st class seating area is marked by a '1' by the door on the train exterior - and internally the 1st class seating area is easily distinguishable because the seats are red and not blue.
Aside from the seats being wider and the additional leg room, the other distinction between the travel classes are the seats in 1st class are arranged 2 + 1 across the aisle - and in 2nd class they are arranged 2 +2.

Those these trains have two particular features which distinguish them from the older trains operated by NS.

• Instead of 'Quiet' and normal zones, these trains have three on-board ambiences - Work, Silence and Meet & Greet
• The Meet and Greet areas,. which can be found in both 1st and 2nd class, have lounge style seating, with seats with face each other across the aisle, aimed at people travelling in small groups - they have seating for six people.

NS is the national railway operator in The Netherlands and it doesn’t allow bicycles to travel on any of its trains between 06:30 – 09:00 and 16:00 – 18:30 on Monday-Friday – except during July and August when there are no time restrictions.

Bikes can be taken on board any train at any other time, including weekends, if you purchase a bike pass for €6.90 - this pass known as a ‘Fietskaart Dal’ has a flat rate price, so it doesn’t matter how far you will be travelling.

An unusual feature of travelling with a bike on NS trains is that tandems can also be taken on board.

Bikes can only be placed in the dedicated bike spaces and because they can’t be reserved, there’s no guarantee that room will be available.
Although neither your train ticket, or bike pass, will be restricted to specific departures, so if need be you can simply take the next train.

When travelling on the high-speed lines these trains travel at up to 200 km/h (125 mph).

No, in common with the national rail services in the The Netherlands operated by NS, seat reservations are not available.

No, you can hop on board with a valid rail pass.
Hence for a Bruxelles ↔ Amsterdam-Centraal journey, taking a combinations of these ECD trains between Bruxelles-Midi and Amsterdam-Zuid stations + a metro train between the Centraal and Zuid stations, is a much cheaper than paying the rail pass reservation fees to travel on the Eurostar trains - and the end-to-end journey times will be similar.

These trains do not have a catering service.

Yes - and accessing the portal is free.

Yes there are sockets for E.U style plugs.

Parts of the train are designated as Quiet Zones.

There is no specific policy, but each individual traveller must be able to take their bags etc on and off the train.

Yes

NS is the national railway operator in The Netherlands and it doesn’t allow bicycles to travel on any of its trains between 06:30 – 09:00 and 16:00 – 18:30 on Monday-Friday – except during July and August when there are no time restrictions.

Bikes can be taken on board any train at any other time, including weekends, if you purchase a bike pass for €6.90 - this pass known as a ‘Fietskaart Dal’ has a flat rate price, so it doesn’t matter how far you will be travelling.

Bikes can only be placed in the dedicated bike spaces and because they can’t be reserved, there’s no guarantee that room will be available.
Although neither your train ticket, or bike pass, will be restricted to specific departures, so if need be you can simply take the next train.

If a dog is small enough to travel in a bag, basket or on your lap, there will be no charge for it.
For larger dogs you need to purchase a Dog Day Ticket regardless of the train you will be taking and the distance you will be travelling, but they cost a reasonable €3.30.