Amsterdam’s municipal council wants vandals to try wrecking prototypes of new subway trains to ensure that the material is “Amsterdam-idiot-proof”, the daily Het Parool reported on Thursday.
Mark van der Horst, the Amsterdam councillor responsible for traffic, told the newspaper that it is not easy to find subway trains that can withstand the Amsterdam brand of hooligans.
“There isn’t anywhere worse than here. The other day my Danish counterpart from Copenhagen did not know what I was talking about,” he said.
To make an informed choice on which trains to order, Van der Horst wants to “get some Amsterdammers from the streets to test them” and see what the vulnerable parts of the trains are.
“Our new Amsterdam subway must be absolutely Amsterdam-idiot-proof,” he explained.
The hooligan tests are set to be carried out next year. — AFP