Railways of Greece
Encyclopedia
Greece is a member of the International Union of Railways
International Union of Railways
The UIC , or International Union of Railways, is an international rail transport industry body.- Brief history :The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns. There were many border changes after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the...
(UIC). The UIC Country Code
UIC Country Code
The UIC Country Code is a two digit number used to identify member countries of the International Union of Railways . The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock and train stations that both contain the UIC Country Code. The values are defined in UIC leaflet 920-14.-Table of Codes:-...
for Greece is 73.
The beginnings (1868-1919)
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to the port of Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
. 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.
The social and economic structure of Greece towards the end of the 19th century was founded on the collection of small agricultural towns acting as marketplaces and economic centres for the villages that surrounded them. Back then Greece had very little industry and a few roads, which made the government think for the development of a railway system that would go towards addressing the lack of internal and external communication that existed. In 1881 the Prime Minister, Alexandros Koumoundouros
Alexandros Koumoundouros
Alexandros Koumoundouros was a Greek politician. Born in Kampos Avias located in the Messenian side of the Mani Peninsula, he was the son of Spirìdonas-Galànis Koumoundoùros who was the Bey of the area during the last period of the administration of the region by the Ottoman Empire.He was a...
signed four contracts for the laying of lines, with the intention to make Greece a pivotal point on the journey between Europe, India and Asia.
In the following year, 1882, Koumoundouros was replaced by Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis
Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895....
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 for a 417 km narrow gauge 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 Lavrio, on the peninsula of Eastern Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
. Trikoupis preferred narrow gauge over standard gauge due to cheaper initial construction costs, although the line linking Athens to Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
, which was planned to eventually join with the European system, was constructed to . The network took 25 years to complete, 20 years longer than the 5 anticipated by Trikoupis.
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 (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.
Modern era (OSE) (1971-2000's)
The Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) was founded in 1971, taking over from the Hellenic State Railways. Since then, the network of Greece's railways has been extensively modernised and parts of it have been electrified, notably between the cities of ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
; and Athens' International Airport and Kiato.
Urban railways of Athens
The first railway line in that operated in Greece was the one connecting Athens and Piraeus, which 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 in 1895 and electrified in 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
Attica Railways
Attica Railways was a railway company which operated a metre gauge railway system in Attica, Greece.The contract between the Greek government and the Hellenic Company of Lavrion Metallurgies was signed in 1882...
in 1885, ran a metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
suburban line from Lavrio Square to the north of Omonoia Square and to Iraklio (a northern suburb). It involved a section of street running, along the present 3 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 and Strofyli, with a freight only extension to Dionyssos marble quaries. 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, the Hellenic 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 and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP was a Greek railway company founded in 1882, which owned and operated the line connecting Piraeus and Athens to Peloponnese. The company was nationalized in 1954 and absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways in 1962.-History:The first line section...
) 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 1957, due to political pressures from the road lobby.
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.
Industrial railways
A number of railway lines were constructed mainly by mining operations and by extensive industrial facilities. There were also a few temporary lines, used for the construction of major public works. Most of them were either metre gauge or .Military railways (1916-1918)
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, after the collapse of Serbia, Eastern Macedonia was occupied by German and Bulgarian forces and Central and Western Macedonia by French and British troops, thus establishing the Macedonian front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
. The French and British troops and their Greek allies had extensive military logistics facilities in and around Thessaloniki. Supplies had to be transported to the various front line units. As World War I fronts were relatively static, it was possible to construct railway lines for this purpose. Almost all of these lines were of the Decauville system with a gauge. Some of these lines were completely isolated from existing lines while others started at mainline railway stations.
The most important such railways were the following:
- The Tasli to Stavros line at Orfanu Bay.
- The Sarakli (Perivolakion) to Stavros line. This 66 km long line, built by the British Army, was taken over by the Hellenic State RailwaysHellenic State RailwaysHellenic State Railways or SEK was a Greek public sector entity which was established in 1920 and operated most Greek railway lines until 1970.-History:...
(SEK) in 1921. SEK operated this line until 1947. It was preserved on request of the Hellenic ArmyHellenic ArmyThe Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...
until 1952, when it was dismantled. The main rolling stock consisted of War Department Baldwin 4-6-0T steam locomotives. - The Skydra (Vertekop) - Aridaia line. This 42 km long line was handed over after the war to Chemins de fer Vicinaux de Macedoine (1923), which failed to make a profit and the line was taken over by the Hellenic State Railways (SEK) in 1932. SEK closed the line in 1936.
- The Armenochori - Skotsidir line
- The Goumenitsa line
- The Dimitritsi (Gudeli) to Kopriva (Kurfali) line
- The Katerini - Dramista line, a mining line for transport of brown coal (lignite)
OSE
Currently the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) owns and maintains the following lines:Major rail network
- The main line from Piraeus to ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
(with its branches at Inoi-Chalkis and Lianokladi-Lamia (city)Lamia (city)Lamia is a city in central Greece. The city has a continuous history since antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region .-Name:...
-StylisStylidaStylida is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The population of the municipal unit was 6,858 .-Municipality:The municipality Stylida was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal...
). The sections between Athens-Tithorea and Domokos-Thessaloniki have been extensively modernised and feature an electrified double track, while parts between these two sections are currently undergoing modernisation. A complete high-speed railway line from Athens to Thessaloniki is expected to be complete by 2015. - The main line from Athens to Corinth–Kiato (Line is mainly used by the ProastiakosProastiakosProastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
commuter rail service). - The electrified single track line from Thessaloniki to Idomeni.
These lines are electrified with the 25 kV AC 50 Hz system.
Minor rail network
- The standard gauge single track line from Platy (branching off from the Athens-Thessaloniki mainline) to Florina and Kozani, forming the Kozani-Amyntaio railway lineKozani-Amyntaio railway lineThe Kozani–Amyntaio railway line is a long railway line of OSE connecting Kozani and Amyntaio in Greece.Construction of the line for the former Hellenic State Railways started in January 1951 and was completed in 1954. It is a branch of the Thessaloniki-Amyntaio-Florina-Bitola line, which began...
. - The standard gauge single track line Thessaloniki to Alexandroupolis and Ormenio, with its branch to Promachon at the Greek-Bulgarian borders.
- The standard gauge lines of Thessaly (Kalambaka and Volos branches), as part of the Thessaly rail network .
Peloponnese metre gauge network
- Metre gauge line from AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
(although in use after Kiato). - Metre gauge line from Patras to Pyrgos.
- Metre gauge line from Pyrgos to Olympia.
- Metre gauge line from Pyrgos to Katakolo.
- Metre gauge line from Pyrgos to Kyparissia, passing through KalamataKalamataKalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf...
, - Metre gauge line from CorinthCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
to Kalamata (via Argos, Nafplion and Tripoli). - Metre gauge line from Messene to Kalamata.
Tourist rail network
- The gauge rack railway line from Diakofo to Kalavrita (the Diakofto Kalavrita RailwayDiakofto Kalavrita RailwayThe Diakofto–Kalavryta Railway is a historic gauge rack railway in Greece. Located on the northern Peloponnese, it runs 22 km from Diakofto through the Vouraikos Gorge and the old Mega Spilaion Monastery and up to Kalavryta, stopping en route at Zachlorou.The line was built by the Piraeus,...
) - The seasonal, gauge line from Ano Lechonia to Milies (the Pelion railwayPelion railwayPelion railway was a narrow gauge railway line of Thessaly Railways in Greece, connecting the city of Volos with the town of Mileai on Pelion.-History:...
)
TrainOSE
Mainline, suburban and freight train services on OSE lines are operated and provided by TrainOSE S.A., a former OSE subsidiary which is now an independent state-owned company. TrainOSE also operates the suburban and commuter rail services (called ProastiakosProastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
) on a modernised network around the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. Proastiakos was founded as a separate company, which became later part of TrainOSE.
Due to the financial problems of Greece
2010 European sovereign debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning some European states, intensifying in early 2010 and thereafter.....
TrainOSE has come to suspend regional services on following lines:
- AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
- Alexandroupolis (although the connection ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
- Alexandroupolis remains in service) - EdessaEdessa, GreeceEdessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
- FlorinaFlorinaFlorina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West... - PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
- PyrgosPyrgos, ElisPyrgos is the capital of the Elis peripheral unit in Greece. It is named after a local tower. The city is located in the western part of the Peloponnese, in the middle of a plain near the Ionian Sea. It is 96 km away from Patras via Greek National Road 9, 320 km from Athens, and...
- KalamataKalamataKalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf... - Kalamata - MesseneMesseneMessene , officially Ancient Messene, is a Local Community of the Municipal Unit , Ithomi, of the municipality of Messini within the Regional Unit of Messenia in the Region of Peloponnēsos, one of 7 Regions into which the Hellenic Republic has been divided by the Kallikratis...
- CorinthCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
- Nafplio - TripoliTripoli, GreeceTripoli is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the prefecture of Arcadia and the centre of the municipality of Tripolis, pop...
Since 13th February 2011, due to the Greek financial crisis and subsequent budget cuts by the Greek government, all international services have been suspended.
- All international lines: Thessaloniki - SkopjeSkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
- BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Thessaloniki - SofiaSofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
- BucharestBucharestBucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and Thessaloniki - IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
Athens Metro
Athens MetroAthens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
consists of two underground lines (lines 2 & 3) in Athens' Metropolitan area. The system is owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and is operated by Attiko Metro Etareia Leitourgias S.A. or AMEL. Athens Metro trains also reach Athens International Airport over electrified OSE lines that are also used by the Proastiakos
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
service.
ISAP
In 1976 the Hellenic Electric Railways S.A. (EIS, Greek ΕΗΣ), which run the Piraeus - Kifissia line and the Piraeus-Perama light railway were nationalized and the company was given its current name Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways S.A.ISAP
I.S.A.P. is the acronym for the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways , the oldest urban rapid transit system of Athens metropolitan area in Greece. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world, after the Metropolitan Railway, of 1863, now a part of the London Underground...
(ISAP, Greek ΗΣΑΠ). The Piraeus-Perama light railway line was closed in 1977.
Today ISAP operates the electrified standard gauge urban rail line from Piraeus to Kifissia; and as such the line is also commonly referred to as Athens' Metro Line 1, although it is operated separately. In 2008 the Greek Government announced plans to construct an extension of the ISAP line from Kifissia to the suburb of Agios Stefanos (formerly Oion).
Thessaloniki Metro
The construction of Thessaloniki metro began in 2006 and Phase 1 of the project is expected to be complete in late 2014. The 9.6 km line will be owned and operated by Attiko Metro S.A..See also
- Hellenic Railways Organisation
- ISAPISAPI.S.A.P. is the acronym for the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways , the oldest urban rapid transit system of Athens metropolitan area in Greece. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world, after the Metropolitan Railway, of 1863, now a part of the London Underground...
- Athens MetroAthens MetroThe Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
- Railway Museum of AthensRailway Museum of AthensThe Railway Museum of Athens, Greece, was founded by the Hellenic Railways Organisation in 1978. It is currently located at 4 Siokou Street, next to the mainline from Athens to Inoi. The museum has a collection of items related to the history of rail transport in Greece, many of them exhibited in...
Further reading
It is the only extensive and authoritative source for the history of Greek railways until 1997. Contains brief history, simple line maps and extensive list of rolling stock until 1997.- ERAIL Greece monograph, report submitted to the European Commission, DG Transport and Energy, Version 6, Rijswijk, The Netherlands, 2005.