The Karaağaç Railway Station , or before 1971 the Edirne Railway Station was the name of the former railway station in Edirne

Edirne

Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...

, located 4 km (2.5 mi) south-west of the city.

History

In 1868, the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Orientaux (CO), Orient Railway Company, received a concession to build a railway to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 via Edirne. In 1871, the line reached Edirne but in order to avoid building a bridge across the Maritsa River, the station was built in Karaağaç. Edirne was always a favored city in the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, and famous for its grand architecture, so in 1890 the station was built that stands today. After the Turkish Independence War, and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne

Treaty of Lausanne

The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...

, the Turkish-Greek border was on the Marika River except the Karaağaç section that remained in Turkish territory. The line was used by the Greek State Railways (OSE) until 1971 when the Turkish State Railways

Turkish State Railways

The State Railways of the Turkish Republic or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara...

 (TCDD) built a line from Pehlivanköy through the city of Edirne to the Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n border, and OSE built a short cut-off

OSE Karaağaç Cut Off

The Karaağaç Cut off line is a 9 km railway line connecting the stations of Nea Vyssa and Marasia in Greece . The section, part of the Alexandroupolis to Ormenio/Svilengrad line, is owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation and operated by TrainOSE S.A.-History:The line connecting...

 between Marasia and Nea Vyssa

Nea Vyssa

Nea Vyssa is a village in the southern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece. It was the seat of the municipality of Vyssa from the late 1990s until 2011. Nea Vyssa is connected by 2 roads to the GR-51 and has a road link to Edirne in Turkey...

 to avoid Turkish territory near Edirne. This resulted in the abandonment of the station.

Today

Following redevelopment works, the train station building was converted into the main building of the Trakya University

Trakya University

Trakya University , aka University of Thrace, established on July 20, 1982, is a state university located in Edirne, at Turkey's European part Eastern Thrace....

in Edirne.

External links

• http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/History/CO
• http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/Stations/EdirneKaraagac