Greece - General Information

Country Name

Greece (Hellas)

National Railway System

All railway infrastructure in Greece is owned and maintained by OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados, or Ο.Σ.Ε., Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος).

National Railway Operator

Train services are operated by Trainose/ΤραινΟΣΕ. Suburban traffic in Attika (Piraeus - Athens - SKA - Halkida and Athens Airport - SKA - Kiato) and Makedonia (Thessaloniki – Domokos) is operated under the brand name Proastiakos (Suburban Railway).

Trainose was transferred to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund in 2013 in preparation for privatisation. On 14 July 2016 the Fund accepted a bid of €45m from Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, which will be submitted to the judgment of the 'Court of Auditors'.

Official Website

Trainose / ΤραινΟΣΕ

Language

Greek. Greek script is quite different from Roman and there is no standard system of transcription. In many of the places served by the railway system, away from the main tourist areas, only Greek is spoken.

Currency

Euro

UIC code

numeric 73; alpha GR

Timetable

Journey Planner

Journey planner in English

Downloadable Timetable

PDF files are available as links, or directly, from the following pages:-

• Intercity timetable and Lianokladi to Stylida
• Suburban railways around Athina, Thessaloniki and Patras
• International Services

Printed Timetable

None.

Engineering Information

The main TrainOSE webpage, under Latest News, often gives details of engineering work but the information is only in Greek.

Maps

Printed Maps

• European Railway Atlas: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece by M.G. Ball (1991) (ISBN 0-7110-2087-6)
• European Railway Atlas by M.G. Ball (2008 onwards)
• Quail Map Co published a railway map of Greece, with extensive supplementary information, but this is currently out of print.

Web-based Maps

• Thorsten Büker's Map of Greek Network / Χαρτης ελληνικου δικτυου.

Ticketing

OSE and Proastiakos have entirely separate ticketing.

Trains can be very crowded so reservations are desirable and sometimes essential. Reserved seats are not marked as such.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure Authority

OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados) / Ο.Σ.Ε. (Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος) determines the overall strategy and manages railway infrastructure.

ERGOSE SA manages most railway modernisation projects.

Network Statement

Network Statements for various years.

Gauge

Standard. The Peloponnese lines from Piraeus to Patra, Olympia and Kalamata etc were formerly entirely metre gauge. The metre gauge route from Piraeus via Athens to Korinthos, Kiato and Patra has been closed; it has been replaced by a standard gauge route as far as Kiato, construction work on the standard gauge continuation from Kiato to Patra has started but is significantly delayed. The rack line from Diakopto to Kalavryta is 750 mm gauge.

Electrification

25 kV 50 Hz.

Rule of the road

Right.

Distances

The Network Statement Annexes above (file 2 of 2) give distances for each station; see ANNEX Ι-Α: Infrastructure Data.

Other Railways

None.

Tourist Lines

• Diakopto – Kalavryta (22 km long, part rack-fitted) (750 mm gauge)
• Pelion Railway Ano Lehonia to Milies (600 mm gauge)
• Attica Museum Railway: Keratea to Kalivia (extension to Markopoulo under construction) (metre gauge)
• Volos – Palaeofarsalos (metre gauge). A 10 km section between Velestino and Aerino was operated by the Thessaly Museum Railway but their website has been deleted, suggesting there is no longer any service. The rest of the line is already out of use. There is a railway museum at Volos station.
• Tempi valley railway: former main line (replaced by a new double track line) along the Tempi river, operated by motor draisines, with no scheduled timetable

Metro

Athens

Trams

Athens

Recent and future changes

The Patras suburban service is to be extended 30 km westwards to Kato Achaia by summer 2017. This had not happened as at March 2017.

With effect from 21 August 2015 trains to and from Macedonia were withdrawn south of Gevgelija, owing to issues with migrants, and no longer enter Greece.

In October 2014, the head of OSE stated that the Korinthos - Argos - Nafplio line is to be reopened. However, there is no further news as at March 2017.

Train Service Changes in 2014

The daily Beograd - Skopje - Thessaloniki summer overnight and Thessaloniki - Sofia daytime services resumed on 10 May 2014.

From Monday 31 March 2014, passenger services started running between Athens and Ano Liosia via a curve bypassing SKA (Acharnes Railway Center).

Train Service Changes in 2012

The Thessaloniki - Edessa - Aminteo - Florina line reopened on 14 October 2012.

A weekly summer-only service was reintroduced between Thessaloniki and Skopje (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) reportedly from 14 July 2012 to 30 September 2012.

Train Service Changes in 2011

All international services from Greece were discontinued from 13 February 2011. Since resumed, see above

The very bad financial situation in Greece caught up with OSE in December 2010. The following lines were closed to all traffic on 1 January 2011, although a few had already ceased operating by then:

• Patra - Kalamata
• Pyrgos - Olympia (since re-opened)
• Pyrgos - Katakolo (since re-opened)
• Isthmos - Loutraki (had already ceased)
• Diakopto - Kalavryta (was operating only irregularly but has since re-opened)
• Kalonero - Kyparissia
• Korinthos - Kalamata (was not operating between Tripoli and Zevgolatio)
• Argos - Nafplio
• Patra - Rio suburban service (since re-opened)
• Kalamata - Zevgolatio suburban service
• Thessaloniki - Edessa - Aminteo - Florina (since re-opened)
• Aminteo - Kozani
• Serres - Alexandroupolis - Pithio - Dikaia (since re-opened); trains from Ormenio to Bulgaria had already ceased.
• Thessaloniki - Idomeni (with the cross border international services ceasing on 13 February 2011)
• Strimon - Kulata (service ceased from 13 February 2011)
• Larissa - Volos (local trains) (since re-opened)
• Palaeofarsalos - Kalambaka (local trains) (since re-opened)

Train Service Changes in 2009

The one train each way between Dikaia and Svilengrad (Bulgaria) was withdrawn in August 2009.

Other Train Service Changes

Train services were withdrawn between Messonissia and Kremenica (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) due to tensions between Greece and FYROM, and are unlikely to resume.

Infrastructure Changes

The main line from Athens to Thessaloniki is in the course of extensive reconstruction, including doubling, realignment and electrification. This work has been under way for many years. Electrification is now complete from Thessaloniki to Domokos in the north and as at March 2017, from Tithorea into Athina station and on the Chalkida branch. A new line is under construction between Tithorea and Lianokladi, including the 9 km long Kallidromo tunnel. According to "Today's Railways", this section was supposed to open in June 2017 but as at June 2017 no information is available from OSE. The mountainous section between Lianokladi and Domokos is being realigned, doubled and electrified but this appears unlikely to open in 2017. A proposed base tunnel was rejected because of geological problems. However, many of these works have been halted because of the financial crisis in Greece.

A replacement route of approximately 20km is under construction between Polykastro and Idomeni which will eliminate an old river bridge and lengthy riverside section.

Other recent electrification includes the line to Athens Airport. An extension is planned from Koropi towards Lavrio. The airport line joins the metro at Plakentias and changes there from 25 kV AC overhead to third rail DC.

Athens - Patras is supposed to be rebuilt as a standard gauge line. Contracts were signed in September 2014 for construction of the Kiáto - Rododáfni section. A new metre gauge curve has been built to connect the new Korinthos station to the old station and the line to Tripoli. The branch to Loutraki has closed and it is not certain if it will be converted to standard gauge.

The former metre gauge line between Palaeofarsalos and Kalambaka has been converted to standard gauge. Parts of the metre gauge line from Palaeofarsalos to Volos, closed to regular traffic on 19 June 1998, may be used by special trains.

Special Notes

Station names are usually shown in Roman script as well as in Greek, but spellings can vary considerably from what may appear in timetables, maps or guide books.