Organismós Sidirodrómon Elládos

Infobox_Company
company_name = Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados (O.S.E.)
company_type = State-owned group of companies
company_
company_slogan = Speeding to the Future (Με Ταχύτητα στο Μέλλον)
foundation = 1877 (Hellenic Railways) / January 1, 1971 (O.S.E.)
location_city = Athens
location_country = Greece
industry = Rail transport
products = Rail transport, Cargo transport, Services
revenue = profit € 105,439,000
net_income = loss € -950,269,000
operating_income = loss € -576,382,000 [http://91.199.96.12/ose/files/isologismos_2007-new_1.pdf]
num_employees =
key_people = President:
Nikolaos Ebeoglou Managing Director:
Anastasios N. Efstathiou
parent =
subsid = EDISY (rail infrastrucure)
TrainOSE (train operator)
[http://www.gaiaose.gr/ GaiaOSE]
Emporeumatika Kentra (merged with GaiaOSE, 2007)
[http://www.ergose.gr ErgOSE]
homepage = [http://www.ose.gr/ose/content/home.aspx?l=1 Hellenic Railways Organisation]
foot_notes =

Organismós Sidirodrómon Elládos (Greek: "Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος", the Hellenic Railways Organisation) is the Greek national railway company, operating both freight and passenger trains on a network which includes lines in the Peloponnese, mainland Greece, parts of Macedonia and Thrace, as well as new lines connecting Thessaloniki to Istanbul and Sofia.

History of the Greek railways

Greece became independent in 1832, the birth of the newly formed sovereign state coinciding with the start of the railway era. By 1835 plans were being put to the Greek state to construct a railway line from Athens to the nearby port of Piraeus. 22 years later, in 1857, a contract for its construction was signed and the work commenced. It took four different companies a further twelve years to lay the 8.8 kilometres of track, the work being completed in 1869. [http://www.ose.gr/ose/content/Folder.aspx?d=39&rd=16685622&f=1663&rf=1372328207&m=-1&rm=-1&l=2 "Hellenic Railways (OSE) History"] , Organismós Sidirodrómon Elládos. Retrieved on April 6, 2008. (At the moment, after the major reorganisation of the OSE webpages, only Greek language text exists.) ]

The social and economic structure of Greece towards the end of the 19th century was founded on a collection of small agricultural towns acting as marketplaces for the surrounding villages. There was little industry and few roads. The government hoped that the development of a railway system would go some way towards redressing this lack of internal and external communication, and in 1881 the Prime Minister, Alexandros Koumoundouros signed four contracts for the laying of standard gauge (1.435 m) lines. The intention was to make Greece a pivotal point on the journey between Europe and India.

In the following year, 1882, Koumoundouros was replaced by Charilaos Trikoupis as Prime Minister, who cancelled the contracts, replacing them with four of his own. He had a different political vision for the railways, seeing them as a way of stimulating the internal growth of Greece, and proposed a 417 km narrow gauge (1.0 m) system encircling the Northern Peloponnese, with a separate system in Thessaly linking the port of Volos with the town of Kalambaka on the other side of the Thessalian plain. There was also a line of 76 km to be laid from Athens to Lavrion, on the Peninsula to the South of Athens. Trikoupis preferred narrow gauge over standard gauge due to cheaper initial construction costs. The line linking Athens to Larissa, which was planned to eventually join with the European system, was constructed to standard gauge. The network took 25 years to complete, 20 years longer than the 5 anticipated by Trikoupis.

At the beginning of the 20th century there was very limited trade between the scattered Greek villages and towns, a typical feature of pre-capitalist society, and the anticipated income to be obtained from the railways was never realised either to the benefit of the contracting companies or the Greek state. However, it did establish a base for future development.

By 1909, 1,606 km. of track had been laid, including the main standard gauge line to the then Greek - Turkish border at Papapouli, past the Tempi valley, some 400 km North of Athens. The first trains to run the full 506 kilometres from Athens to Thessaloniki on standard gauge track marked the completion of the line in 1918, which by then was running entirely on Greek territory.

Athens urban & suburban railways

Piraeus - Monastiraki - Iraklio - Lavrio - Kifissia

This first railway line in Greece, connecting Athens and Piraeus, opened in 1869. It ran for a distance of 8 km from the port of Piraeus to Thissio in Athens. It was later extended to Omonoia Square (1895) and electrified (1904) with the 600V DC third rail system. From 1911 it was also possible to run through freight trains on the Piraeus Harbor Tramway using dual system electric locomotives.

Another company, Attica Railways (1885), ran a suburban line from Lavrio Square, to the north of Omonia Square, to Iraklio (a northern suburb). It involved a section of street running, along the present 3rd September Street, from Lavrio Square to Attiki Square, beyond which it ran on a dedicated trackbed. At Iraklio, the line forked to form two suburban branches. One went further north via Maroussi to Kifissia with a freight only extension to Dionyssos marble quaries (Strofyli). The other branch ran eastwards to Vrilissia (at a point very near to the present Plakentias station) and then southwards to the villages Peania, Koropi, Marcopoulo, Kalyvia, Keratea, Kamariza and its terminus at the mining town of Lavrio.

In 1926, Greek Electric Railways S.A. (Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σίδηρόδρομοι, ΕΗΣ), a new company, created by the co-operation of Attica Railways S.A. and the English "Power Group", took over operation of the two lines Piraeus-Athens and Omonia and Attiki-Kifissia-Strofyli. In 1929 SPAP (Piraeus - Athens - Peloponnese Railways) took over the Iraklio - Lavrio branch line. The Athens terminal for Lavrio was moved from Lavrio Square to Athens Peloponnese Station. To join the Lavrio line to its network, SPAP built a connection between Agioi Anargyroi (Kato Liosia) and Iraklio (1931). The Lavrio line was eventually closed in 1956, due to political pressures from the road lobby. [cite book | title=Από τα Παμφορεία στο Μετρό | author=G. Nathenas, A. Kourbelis, T. Vlastos, S. Kourouzidis, V. Katsareas, P. Karamanis, A. Klonos, N. Kokkinos | language=greek | isbn=978-960-8460-91-1 | year=2007 | volume=2 | publisher=Μίλητος (Militos) | location=Athens | pages=537-834 ]

The line from Attiki Square to Kifissia operated as a steam locomotive hauled railway with numerous level crossings until 1938. The line was subsequently rebuilt in electrified dual track standard gauge without level crossings, connected to the electrified Athens-Pireus (EIS) line at Omonoia, and reopened to Kifissia in 1957. The extension to Strofyli was abandoned.

In 1976 the "Hellenic Electric Railways" (EIS, greek ΕΗΣ) running the Piraeus - Kifissia line was nationalized and was given the current name " Athens - Piraeus Electric Railways" (ISAP, greek ΗΣΑΠ). This line does not belong to OSE, and though it is usually considered as "Athens metro line one", it neither belongs to "Attica Metro" running the other two metro lines.

In 2008 the Greek Government announced plans to construct an extension of the ISAP line from Kifissia to the suburb of Agios Stefanos (Oion), which is also served by the OSE line from Athens to Oinoi.

Infrastructure: Network and Stations

As in most European Union countries, administration of the railway infrastructure and the railway operating companies using the network to provide passenger and freight transportation services are separated from each other. Within this framework, EDISY S.A. is the manager of the Greek national railway infrastructure. The document Network Statement,PDFlink| [http://www.ose.gr/ose/files/EDISY_2007_NETWORK_STATEMENT.pdf Network Statement 2007] |1.29 MB. EDISY S.A., Athens, 2006.] published by EDISY S.A., gives a detailed description of the Greek railway network.

The Greek railway network is fairly simple, consisting of two major lines: the standard gauge line from Piraeus and Athens to northern Greece and the originally entirely, currently partly, metre gauge line from Athens to Peloponnese. Almost all other lines are branch lines linking directly to these two lines. The main line of the Greek Railway System (standard gauge) is divided into two sections: Athens to Thessaloniki, a distance of 520 kilometres and Thessaloniki to Ormenio (border with Turkey) via Alexandroupoli.

According to 2007 Network Statement, the total length of the standard gauge lines was approximately 1665 km and the length of the metre gauge lines (excluding Krioneri - Messolonghi - Agrinio line) about 725 km. In addition, about 150 km of new standard gauge lines were under construction for access to Athens Airport and to replace metre gauge lines, and this became fully operational in July 2007.

Piraeus - Athens

Piraeus is served by two terminal stations. One of them, "Piraeus Harbour" (Πειραιεύς Λιμήν, coord|37|56|55|N|23|38|08|E|type:railwaystation|name=Piraeus Harbour) was used until 2006 by some standard gauge trains to Chalkis, Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis. The short line to Agios Ioannis Rentis was closed and is currently being renovated. The heavy rolling stock repair works (Piraeus Central Factory, Κεντρικό Εργοστάσιο Πειραιώς - ΚΕΠ) are located at Lefka (coord|37|57|17|N|23|39|03|E|type:railwaystation|name=Piraeus Central Factory), next to "Ergostasio" halt, and are accessible from this line.

The other Piraeus mainline station ("Peloponnese Station", coord|37|56|57|N|23|38|36|E|type:railwaystation|Piraeus Peloponesse Station) was used by metric line trains until 2005. Afterwards it was closed and the metric track lifted and converted to standard gauge, reopening in 2007. The two lines from Piraeus meet just outside Agios Ioannis Rentis marshalling yard (coord|37|57|41|N|23|39|55|E|type:railwaystation|Agios Ioannis Rentis).

This is a very interesting location, as the line passes through the marshalling yards at Rentis, where some old rolling stock can be seen. Next to the Rentis marshalling yard is a major rolling stock depot and maintenance facility of OSE.

North of Agios Ioannis Rentis the line crosses Kifissos River and then passes through the freight and parcels handling station of Rouf. At a siding of Rouf station there is a "railway theatre" utilising disused rolling stock and a disused Breda "2-10-2" steam locomotive (coord|37|58|27|N|23|42|14|E|name=Ma-1002 steam locomotive|type:railwaystation). The line between Rouf and Athens Central (Larissis Station) is still single track, descending through the "cavern" under the road.

There is considerable traffic on this stretch as it serves both the new "suburban" railway (Proastikos) and the main line to Thessaloniki and the Halkida (Chalkis) branch as well as other destinations served by Athens.

Athens - Lamia - Larissa - Thessaloniki

Continuing through the northern suburbs of Athens, the line runs to Agioi Anargiroi, which is where the Peloponnese line used to branch off westwards, and in fact the narrow gauge track is still in place from this point on. A new station is under construction at this location.

After a couple of kilometers the line passes Acharnes Railway Center (SKA), the junction connecting the main line with the suburban line to Athens International Airport "El. Venizelos" and with the new standard gauge line to Peloponnese.

The main line continues northwards. This section climbs steadily to Oinoi, through rural and wooded countryside, typical of northern Attica. There is a branch line from Oinoi, 52 km to Halkida (22 km).

From Oinoi to Tithorea the line is double-track continuously welded rail allowing for high speed running across the flat Thiva plain. From Tithorea the line reverts to single track as it climbs alongside Mount Parnassus from Amfikleia to Bralos and then descends to Lianokladi. There is a 23 km branch line from Leianokladi passing through Lamia to Stylis. The mountain scenery on this single track section of the line, which extends from Brallos to Domokos, is spectacular, as is the Vale of Tempe.

From Domokos to Thessaloniki the trains run on high speed double track, passing through a tunnel at Tempe. The picturesque line adjacent to the coast near Platamon at the northern end of Tempe to Katerini is now abandoned, though still visible, and has been replaced by a high speed section of double track. There are fine views of mountain and sea as the train travels along the eastern slopes of Mount Olympus to Katerini.

Platy, 472 km North of Athens and 48 km to the West of Thessaloniki is the point where Athens and Thessaloniki were first linked by rail in 1916. Trains commenced their operations between the two cities in 1918, the first through train service from Athens to Paris linking up with the Orient Express being inaugurated in 1920. There is a junction here with the line from Thessaloniki to Amyntaion, Kozani and Florina. The line continues across flatland until the suburbs of Thessaloniki are reached at Sindos.

There are substantial marshalling yards for both goods and passenger trains in Larissa and Thessaloniki.

Journey time between Athens and Thessaloniki can vary depending on the type of train selected. The stopping service train takes approximately 6 hours, the Express (E) train 5h 30mins, the InterCity(IC) 5h and the InterCity Express (ICE) 4h 15mins (Jan. 2008 Timetables).

Thessaloniki - Alexandroupoli - Pythio - Ormenio

This long stretch of line, 615 km, joins Thessaloniki to the Port of Alexandroupolis in Thrace passing through or near most major cities of East Macedonia and Thrace (Serres, Drama, Xanthi, Komotini). At Strymon the line connects with another northbound line along Strymon River valley to Promahon, which then joins with the Bulgarian network at Kulata. The line section from Stavroupolis to Toxotes runs along Nestos River valley and is part of a preserved area of great natural beauty, which is not accessible by road.

From Alexandroupolis the line continues northwards, where it runs for the most part alongside the Evros River, marking the border between Greece and Turkey. At Pythio there is a junction. A line continues east and crosses into Turkey from whence it continues to Istanbul. On the Greek side the line continues north to Ormenion, the northernmost corner of Greece, from where the line crosses to the Bulgarian border town of Svilengrad. The distance from Alexandroupolis to Ormenio is 120 km, making a total distance of 735 km from Thessaloniki to Ormenion.

Thessaly Railways

Larissa - Volos

The Standard gauge branch line from Larissa to the port of Volos (61 km) was completed as recently as 1960. A single track line, It branches off the main Athens - Thessaloniki line to the north east of Larissa, crossing the Northern part of the Thessalian Plain to Velestino, where there is a junction with the now disused Volos - Palaio Farsala section of the 1 m. gauge line to Kalambaka-Meteora. From Velestino it descends rapidly to the port of Volos, running parallel to the narrow gauge line for a small part of its journey. Both lines terminate at Volos, which also used to be the terminus for the Pelion narrow gauge line to Milies. Engine sheds and marshalling yards at Volos are home to many abandoned relics of the Greek railway system. There is a regular service on this line. The station at Volos was at one time unique in being the terminus of three different gauges of railway line: standard gauge, metre gauge and 60 cm gauge.

Palaiofarsalos - Kalampaka

The line from Volos to Kalambaka Meteora, formerly metre gauge but now standard gauge from Palaiopharsalos to Kalambaka/Meteora, crosses the main line at Palaiopharsalos. Only the section to Kalambaka is in operation at present, serving the town of Sofades and the cities of Karditsa and Trikala. The Eastern section to Velestino, still metric gauge, is maintained by enthusiasts as a heritage railway but rarely used.

=Thessaloniki - Edessa - Amyntaio - Kozani / Florina=

This line runs from Thessaloniki to Edessa, Amyntaio, Kozani and Florina. Leaving the Thessaloniki - Athens line at Plati, it runs alongside the Aliakmon river, through Alexandria and then on to Veria, Naoussa and Skydra, before climbing to Edessa and then, along the norhern shore of Lake Vegoritida, reaching Amyntaio. At Amyntaio the line branches into two, the Kozani branch serving Ptolemaida and power stations of the State Electricity commpany, DEH (Railway Line Kozani - Amyntaio), and the northern branch serving the city of Florina. At Neos Kafkasos there is a junction leading north to the city of Bitola in the Former Yogoslavian Republic of Macedonia, although this short international connection is now disused, all international traffic being routed via Idomeni and Gevgelija.

There is a regular passenger train service from Thessaloniki via Platy to Edessa and a limited service to Kozani (3 trains per day) [cite web | title=Rail link in western Macedonia reopened | publisher=Athens News Agency | date=2007-01-19 | url=http://www.hri.org/news/greek/apeen/2007/07-01-19.apeen.html | accessdate=2008-06-08 | language=English] and Florina (4 trains per day).

Peloponnese metric gauge network

Major changes are in progress on the Peloponnese section and details are liable to change. Information on these changes are to be found on the official OSE site, http://www.ose.gr/echome.asp?lang=2 but the actual situation is too fluid to be regarded as accurate. Nevertheless, as one of the remaining narrow gauge railways still operating in Europe, this is an important entry.

Athens - Corinth - Kiato (metric gauge)

The old, metric gauge line, which ran from Piraeus through Athens to Corinth, now remains in operation only between Agii Anargiri and Corinth for departmental and freight services, the track from Piraeus to this point having been removed. It is double track between Agioi Anargyroi and Elefsis, one of the tracks being dual gauge. From Elefsis the line is single track. The line is not electrified.

After Ano Liossia the line runs north and west of the Aegaleo mountain range, into Eleusis and onwards to the Megara plain. After 9 km it reaches Kakia Skala, running between the old and new highways. It then continues between the mountain and the sea, passing next to the Corinth Refinery, crossing the Corinth Canal into the Peloponnese and on into the Old Station in Corinth on the Southern banks of the Gulf of Corinth.

A short branch line at Isthmos leads to the town of Loutraki but it is currently disused due to reactions from the local authority.

Kiato - Patras

The metric gauge line to Patras runs through attractive scenery along the south side of the Gulf of Corinth, the northern coast of the Peloponnese.

At Diakofto, a seaside resort between Corinth and Patras, there is a junction with the Diakofto Kalavrita Railway, a 750 mm gauge rack and pinion line which climbs to a height of 720 m during a 22 km journey to Kalavryta through the Vouraikos Gorge. This line is known to Greeks as the "Odontotos" ("The train with teeth").

The main line continues alongside the gulf passing to the north of Aigio and on to Patras. The Patras train station is situated next to the port near Othonos-Amalias Avenue. An old steam locomotive, c. 1900, lies to the east. The engine sheds and rolling stock depot are located to the northeast next to Norman Street. A freight marshalling yard is near Agios Andreas, although there are no longer freight services on the metric line.

It is possible that services may be suspended soon in the western part of this line due to work in progress for the new standard gauge line.

Patras - Lechaina - Pyrgos - Olympia

The line Patras - Kato Achaia - Lechaina - Amaliada - Pyrgos - Olympia is about 150 km long and runs through the prefectures of Achaia and Ilia. The train runs to the east of Akti Dymaion and alongside the Gulf of Patras between the old and the new highways as far as Kato Achaia, where it passes along the bed of the ravine, 4 km from GR-9/E55 to Lappa. The route then runs to the north of forested land, passing into Nea Manolada, then west of the highway to Lechaina. There used to be a junction with the Kavasila - Kyllini/Loutra Kyllinis branch line here, but this branch has now been abandoned. The line continues SW to Kardamas and then into Douneika, moving away from the hills before reaching Pyrgos. It passes Pyrgos to the north, shortly branching left to the south west, leaving the main line for Kyparissia and Kalamata. The track runs into the hills, passing through Varvasena and then into the terminus at Olympia.

Pyrgos - Katakolo

Another 13 km branch line, originally operated by a separate company "Σιδηρόδρομος Πύργου - Κατακώλου" (Pyrgos - Katakolo Railway), opened in 1883 to link Pyrgos with the port of Katakolo. This line had its own terminal in Pyrgos. Later in 1951 this railway was taken over by SPAP and trains were diverted into the SPAP station. The line was recently modernized (2007) and is used for a limited passenger service.

Pyrgos - Zacharo - Kalo Nero - Kalamata - Kyparissia

The line runs along the bed of the Alpheus river, east of GR-9/E55, then through Zacharo and into the plain westward with a few forested hills northwest of Kaiafa. It runs for most of its length west of the highway, passing into Zacharo and through Neochori and Tholon. At Kalo Nero the main line turns east and runs inland joining Corinth - Argos - Tripoli - Kalamata line at Zevgolatio while a short branch continues south from Kalo Nero down the coast to Kyparissia.

Corinth - Argos - Nafplion - Tripoli - Kalamata

NOTE: THIS SECTION OF THE LINE IS NOT CURRENTLY IN USE --

The line branches off from the Athens - Corinth - Patras line, 1 km SW of Corinth, then passes through Argos, where there is a branch line of 10 km from Argos to Nafplion. It continues on to Tripoli and Lefktro where a short branch line connects Megalopoli to the main line. In Zevgolatio the line joins the line from Pyrgos - Kyparissia and continues on to Kalamata. This line used to continue from the main station of Kalamata to the old station of "Kalamata Limin" (Kalamata Harbor), now used as an open air railway museum, and it came to an end at the Port of Kalamata. Track of this last section from Kalamata main station to the port still exists but is not any more in use.

Work is in progress on this section of the line and details are liable to change. Passenger services on sections between Corinth, Argos, Tripolis and Nafplion were expected to resume in January 2008, but until June 2008 only sporadic departmental trains (without passengers) have used this line.

Messene - Kalamata

This single track line is a branch of the Corinth–Argos–Tripoli–Kalamata line and is 4,7km long. The branch starts at Asprochoma then the track follows the GR-82 road closely on the southern side. The line was opened in 1892 and linked Kalamata with Messene where a station building and a freight yard were built. It was closed in 1976 but the tracks were not removed.

The line has been recently rebuilt and reopened in September 2007. A new halt at Kalamata airport (military base entrance) is under construction.

Athens - Corinth - Kiato (standard gauge)

The new Corinth line branches off at SKA and runs west into Elefsis and Megara Plains, and through tunnels in the "Kakia Skala" area, north of Agioi Theodoroi. The new line then crosses the Corinth Canal over a new bridge and then into the New Corinth Station.

Currently (2008) the line extends to the town of Kiato, where passengers change to the metric line trains to Patras and beyond. There is work in progress to extend the line to Xylokastro and Aigio and plans to extend it to Patras.

Athens - Athens Airport

In 2004 a new line was inaugurated running from Acharnai (SKA) junction to Athens International Airport "El. Venizelos". Between Iraklio and Koropi the new line runs along a closed motoway (Attiki Odos), along the general direction of the old Lavrio line, but displaced east. The line is double track and electrified with 25 kV overhead catenary. When the planned extension from Koropi to Lavrio will be built, it would follow more closely the old Lavrio line.

Thessaloniki - Idomeni

Pelion Railway Line

The 0.60 metre gauge 27 km line from Volos to Milies, a distance of 28 km, was constructed between 1903 and 1906, by the Italian engineer, Evaristo De Chirico. The railway was first opened in 1906. It is an independent line, not a continuation of the 1 metre gauge Volos to Kalambaka line. Although abandoned in the 1970s, it has been restored from Ano Lechonia to Milies. At the time of writing (March 2006) a twice weekly "tourist train" operates during the summer on Saturdays and Sundays. This is occasionally headed by one of the two restored 2-6-0 steam locomotives. The train climbs to a height of 450 metres during its 22 km journey from Ano Lechonia, a journey which takes one and a half hours. The old station at Milies has been converted into a restaurant with guest rooms. When all three gauge railways were operating from Volos this gave the station the unique distinction of being terminus to three different gauges of railway. The Pelion railway played a major role in the economic development of the Pelion region. The stations that serve this line are rarely operational, but they still exist.

Abandoned lines

=Paleofarsalos - Velestino - Volos=

This was formerly a metre gauge line throughout its length from Volos to Kalampaka, however the track from Paleofarsalos to Kalampaka/Meteora is now standard gauge. The remainder of the metre gauge line from Paleofarsalos to Velestino is disused, though in part maintained as a heritage railway by the non-profit "Company for Museum Railways (Εταιρεία Μουσειακών Σιδηροδρόμων)" or "EMOS (ΕΜΟΣ)". EMOS now operates a Linke-Hoffman DMU on loan from OSE, an old Nippon Saryo diesel locomotive, formerly of Aliveri Lignite Mines and various rail cars. They also own and plan to return to operational condition a Jung steam locomotive, while other rolling stock shall remain as display items (a Tubize steam locomotive, a Breda railbus etc). [http://www.sfs.gr/view.php?artid=20&top=topbg6]

Kavasila - Vartholomio - Kyllini

This 16 km long branch line, part of the SPAP network, served the port of Kyllini, from which ferrys sail to Zakynthos (Zante) Island. Services on this branch started in August 1891 and lasted until 1995Fact|date=May 2008, when the line was closed down.

This line also included a 10.8 km branch from Vartholomio to the Thermal Springs of Kyllini (a popular Spa at the time), which opened in June 1892 and closed down in 1969. [cite book | title=Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways) | publisher=Μίλητος (Militos) | isbn=960-8460-07-7 | author=I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. | year=1997 |language=Greek | pages=213]

The line had railway stations in Vartholomio with a freight yard, Loutra Kyllinis, Neochori and Kyllini with no building. The line had 4 railway crossings.

Currently the line is used by OSE as a junkyard for old metric line stock.

Krioneri - Messolonghi - Agrinio

This metre gauge line that was opened in the 1890s linked the small port of Krioneri with Messolonghi and Agrinio. A short branch from Katolikon to Katoche was in operation from 1912 to 1940. From Krioneri to Patras a ferryboat service was provided. The expense of the ferry, the increase in private car traffic and the hostility of Local Authorities led to the closure of the line for passenger traffic in 1970 and for departmental traffic in 1975. [cite book | title=Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways) | publisher=Μίλητος (Militos) | isbn=960-8460-07-7 | author=I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. | year=1997 |language=Greek | pages=238]

In the 1990s a scheme to restore and reopen the line was started. The track was modernized and work finished in 2003 but passenger services have not been restored, due to lack of personnel and rolling stock.

Isthmos - Loutraki

Other

A number of lines have been closed and subsequently the track has been lifted. They include "Sarakli-Savros", "Angista-Ampipolis", "Alexandroupolis bypass" and "Skydra-Almopia". [cite journal | title=The Railways of Greec | journal=The Railway Magazine | volume=87 | issue=524 | month=February | year=1941 | pages=64 | author=Voyageur (Anonymous) | publisher=Railway Publications | location=London, UK : Contains a map of Hellenic Railways in 1940-1941.]

Domestic Services

Mainline passenger services

"Proastiakos" suburban service

Proastiakos ( _el. Προαστιακός, meaning just "suburban") is the suburban service of OSE in the Athens and Thessaloniki areas. Proastiakos was initially an independent subsidiary within the OSE group but has since been merged with TrainOSE. The network infrastructure, even if partly purpose-built for the suburban service, is part of the national railway network of EDISY S.A. and as such available also for other types of services, even freight.

Proastiakos is a relatively new development: the first service opened for 2004 Athens Olympic Games between Athens International Airport "El. Venizelos" and Neratziotissa station, close to the Olympic Stadium. Current network consists of the 'main corridor' Piraeus - Athens - Acharnes Railway Center (Σιδηροδρομικό Κέντρο Αχαρνών, SKA), SKA - Athens International Airport, SKA - Corinth - Kiato and Thessaloniki - Litochoro.

Because Acharnes Railway Center is not yet an operational passenger station, Neratziotissa has remained as the service hub where passengers can transfer between the different suburban lines and also with the ISAP trains. Only the SKA - Airport section has currently electification and therefore EMUs can be used on the Neratziotissa - Airport line only, limiting direct services from Airport past Neratziotissa. Plakentias station has connection with Metro line 3 and stations, as well as the rail network, from Plakentias station to the Airport are shared with Metro line 3. At Athens Central "Larissa" station there is connection with Metro line 2. Because Proastiakos service from Athens to Kiato also forms the only passenger train service from Athens to Peloponnese, connecting with the Peloponnese metre gauge network, it has a somewhat wider role than pure suburban service.

The rolling stock used on the electrified Neratziotissa - Airport and Thessaloniki - Litochoro lines consists of Class 460 Siemens Desiro EMUs. On non-electrified sections Stadler GTW 2/6 DMUs and MAN-2000 DMUs of TrainOSE, are used. Occasionally even class 520 InterCity trainsets have been used to run Proastiakos services.

During spring-summer 2008, due to construction works of the infrastructure, suburban service to Athens and Piraeus is limited and main services are running between Airport - Neratziotissa - Corinth - Kiato, alongside some direct services between Piraeus and Kiato. In July 2008 this was replaced with a new setup consisting of lines Piraeus - Kiato, Ano Liosia - Neraziotissa and Neraziotissa - Airport. This makes Ano Liosia the new 'hub' where the Proastiakos routes to different destinations interconnect but requires an additional change of trains in Neraziotissa when travelling between Athens or Peloponnese and Athens International Airport.

On the Thessaloniki - Litochoro line there are currently ten trains per day in each direction. It is expected that in July 2008 the line between Larissa and Thessaloniki shall be electrified, so Thessaloniki suburban services shall extend to Larisa.

Freight rail

International Services

The Greek railways connect with the railways of the neighbouring countries as follows: with the railways of Bulgaria at Promahonas (Koulata) and at Ormenion, with the railways of Turkey near Pythio and with the railways of FYROM at Idomeni. Following services from Greece to neighbouring countries exist: [http://91.199.96.12/ose/content/Folder.aspx?d=41&rd=16507206&f=1708&rf=-2117883076&m=-1&rm=0&l=1 "International Passenger Services "] , Organismós Sidirodrómon Elládos. Retrieved on March 26, 2008.]

Thessaloniki - Istanbul

Daily night service between Thessaloniki and Istanbul. The new service was Launched on July 8, 2005, connecting Thessaloniki to Istanbul in 11 hours and 30 minutes instead of the 14 hours and 30 minutes of the previous service.

Thessaloniki - Sofia

Two daily services between Thessaloniki and Sofia. Travel time about six hours.

Athens - Sofia

Daily night service between Athens and Sofia. Travel time about 13 hours.

In addition to the Thessaloniki - Sofia and Athens - Sofia services, there's also a daily service from Athens/Thessaloniki over Ormenion to Svilengrad in South-East Bulgaria, close to the Greek - Turkish border.

Thessaloniki - Sofia - Bucharest

Night service ("Romania") between Thessaloniki and Bucharest via Sofia.PDFlink| [http://bdz.creato.biz/files/pdf/transbalkan_eng.pdf Transbalkan] |53.6 KB. BDZ.]

Thessaloniki - Idomeni - Skopje - Belgrade

Rolling stock of Hellenic Railways

Diesel locomotives

Diesel trainsets

Headquarters

The headquarters of OSE are at 1-3 Karolou St., Athens 104 37, Greece.

Photo Gallery

Notes and References

See also

* Proastiakos
* Kozani-Amyntaio railway line
* Diakofto Kalavrita Railway
* Lavriou Square-Strofyli railway line

Further reading

* It is the only extensive and authoritative source for the history of Greek railways.

* Contains brief history, simple line maps ans extensive list of rolling stock until 1997.

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* [http://www.ose.gr OSE Main Website] ( [http://www.ose.gr/ose/content/Home.aspx?d=39&rd=16685622&f=-1&rf=-1&m=-1&rm=-1&l=1=2 English version] , including timetables, but check for accuracy.)

*: A history of the development of the Athens urban and suburban lines from 1869, with emphasis to EIS/ISAP lines.

* "Greek Trainscapes" - Handrino, Kakavas, Fotis

* "Stations, Trains and Horizons" - Yannis Skoulas

* "Stations in History" - Lefteris Papayanakis

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* [http://www.ergose.gr/ergosesite/main.asp?CONTAINERID=1&LANGUAGE=2&REFCI=0 ERGOSE S.A.]
* [http://proastiakos.gr/en/ Proastiakos S.A. (Suburban Railway)]

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* [http://www.sfs.gr/ Hellenic Association of the Friends of the Railway]
* [http://www.sfsm.gr/ Messinian Association of the Friends of the Railway]
* [http://flagspot.net/flags/gr$ose.html Flag of Greek Railways Organization]

* [http://users.ntua.gr/dtert/trena Web page about Greek Railways, by D. Tertipis]

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