Phileine next to her Sweet Monster Train – credit, NS released
Now from the Netherlands comes the delightful story of an 8-year-old’s dream design made reality on the carriages of a very special train.
Hosted by the national train operator NS, the NS Drawing Competition invites children all over the country to submit drawings to be used as an exterior design for one of the operator’s trains.
8-year-old Phileine from Zutphen, near Utrecht, won the competition’s 2025 edition which experienced a record number of entries: over 1,200 children took place.
“From jungle trains full of animals to flying locomotives and fantasy creatures that move along the track, all drawings combined humor, fantasy and adventure,” NS wrote in a statement.
Phileine’s concept was the “Sweet Monster Train,” which she got to see first hand at the competition’s conclusion in Utrecht’s Maliebaan station.
Phileine worked with a professional illustrator Jip Piet to cover the train cars in friendly monsters, deliberately designed to be impossible to scare anyone as they crawl and slither along the exterior.
Phileine’s original design – credit, NS released
Her entry was presented as an ingenious design that would allow the operator to print the design out at scale on large decal stickers, no paint needed.
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Then, Phileine arrived with her family to cut the ribbon at the opening of the intercity train next to competition judge Daan Schutt, a board member of NS.
“With the drawing competition, NS wants to inspire children in a playful way for train travel,” the translated statement from NS said.
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“Children often experience a train journey as an adventure, much more than we sometimes realize as adults. By focusing on their imagination and really bringing one dream train to life, we show how special travel can be through children’s eyes.”
WATCH young Phileine see the train for the first time…
SHARE This Child’s Imagination Made Reality On A Special Train…
