| Piraeus–Platy railway (Part of the Athens–Thessaloniki railway corridor) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner | Hellenic Railways Organisation |
| Locale | Greece (Attica,Central Greece, Thessaly,Central Macedonia) |
| Termini | |
| Stations | 42 |
| Service | |
| Type | High-speed rail/Commuter rail |
| Services | |
| Operator(s) | Hellenic Train |
| History | |
| Opened | (In stages) from 1908 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 456.60 km (283.72 mi)[1] |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Character | Primary |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC[1][2][3] |
| Operating speed |
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Therailway from Piraeus to Platy is anelectrifieddouble-track railway line that connectsAthens to northernGreece and the rest ofEurope. It constitutes the longest section of the mostly completedhigher-speed rail line known asP.A.Th.E./P., which includes Greece's most important rail connection, that betweenAthens andThessaloniki. Its northern end is the station ofPlaty, on theThessaloniki–Bitola railway. In the south, it connects to theAthens Airport–Patras railway at theAcharnes Railway Center. The line passes throughThebes,Katerini andLarissa, and offers connections to several other cities (Chalcis,Lamia,Volos,Karditsa,Trikala) through branch lines.
The southern terminus of the Piraeus–Platy railway is at the harbour ofPiraeus, where connections with ferries to several Greek islands exist. FromPiraeus station, the line runs northeast towards the centre ofAthens, where it crosses the mainAthens railway station, commonly known asLarissa station. Continuing through the northern suburbs of Athens, the line runs toAgioi Anargyroi, where the oldPeloponnese line branched off westwards. Themetre-gauge track is still in place from this point on.
AtAcharnes Railway Center (SKA), themain line connects with theAthens Airport–Patras railway, carryingAthens Suburban Railway services fromPiraeus toAthens Airport and toKiato andAigio in thePeloponnese. The main line continues northwards and climbs steadily towardsOinoi, through rural and wooded countryside typical of northern Attica. There is a 21.69 km (13.48 mi)branch line from Oinoi toChalcis.[1]
The works on the newdouble-track railway fromLeianokladi toDomokos was completed in January 2019, while therailway electrification system was completed in April 2019.[4][5] With the completion of the rebuiltTithorea–Leianokladi–Domokos section, the Athens–Thessaloniki line is doubled and electrified along its entire length.[2][3] The oldsingle-track railway was noted for its spectacular mountain scenery betweenBralos andDomokos.
There is a 22.61 km (14.05 mi)branch line from Leianokladi passing throughLamia toStylida.[1] AtPalaiofarsalos, an 80.44 km (49.98 mi)line toKarditsa,Trikala andKalambaka branches off (formerThessaly Railways).[1] There is also ametre-gauge railway toVelestino, which is no longer used commercially. At theThessalian capitalLarissa, there is a 60.76 km (37.75 mi)branch line toVolos.[1] North of Larissa, the line passes through a tunnel atTempe. The picturesque line adjacent to the coast nearPlatamon at the northern end of Tempe toKaterini is now abandoned, though still visible. This section of the line provided passengers with unique views towards the mountains and sea as the train travelled along the eastern slopes ofMount Olympus toKaterini.
Platy, Imathia is the point where the nation's two largest cities were first linked by rail in 1916. Trains between the two commenced operations in 1918, with the firstthrough train service from Athens toParis linking up with theOrient Express, which was inaugurated in 1920. At Platy, the line from Piraeus connects with theline from Thessaloniki toKozani (including thebranch line toAmyntaio) andFlorina.
Larissa andThessaloniki have substantialmarshalling yards for bothgoods andpassenger trains. Journey time between Athens and Thessaloniki can vary depending on the type of train selected. Before theTempi train crash, the regularInterCity service took 4 hours and 13 minutes, while the Express took 3 hours and 59 minutes. Following the implementation of lower operating speeds and other safety measures, the journey times have increased to 7 hours and 17 minutes and 5 hours and 18 minutes respectively. As of October 2024, the journey time between Athens and Thessaloniki is 4 hours and 53 minutes.[6]
The main stations on the Piraeus–Platy railway are:
Some other stations of the line areOinoi,Thebes,Livadeia,Tithorea,Leianokladi,Angeies andDomokos.
Although a railway line from Athens to the north had been planned since 1883, the first section from Athens to Demerli (currentPalaiofarsalos railway station) was not opened until 1908. The two branch lines fromOinoi to Chalcis and fromLamia toStylida were also opened in 1908. Subsequently, the line was extended towards the former Greek–Turkish border atPapapouli, betweenLarissa andKaterini. Finally, in May 1916, the remaining section from Papapouli toPlaty on theline from Thessaloniki to Monastir (Bitola) was opened.[7]
Major upgrades to the line had been planned since the late 1980s. The first upgrade was completed west of Oinoi in the early 1990s. In 1996, the Orfana bypass was opened. On 28 November 2003, theVale of Tempe line was abandoned in favour of a tunnel, and in 2004 the Tempe–Platamon–Katerini–Platy section was drastically shortened, leading to the abandonment of the picturesque route along theAegean coast atPlatamon. Between 2005 and 2010 several sections were upgraded in order to allow for higher speeds, notably the Oinoi–Tithorea, Domokos–Larissa, Evangelismos–Leptokarya and Aiginio–Thessaloniki sections.[8][9] The Tithorea–Domokos section was reconstructed on a partly altered route, shortening it from 121.60 km (75.56 mi) to 107.33 km (66.69 mi) in order to sustain high-speed railway requirements.[1] It includes two tunnels—the 9.3 km (5.8 mi)Kallidromo Tunnel, which is the longest in theBalkans, and the 7 km (4.3 mi)Othrys Tunnel.[10] Another upgrade is the reparation of the damaged electrification system of the section between Acharnes and Tithorea.[3]
An accident occurred near Tempi on February 28, 2023. It is Greece's worst railway disaster. The station master inLarissa was arrested in connection to the accident.[11]
The Piraeus–Platy railway is used by the following passenger services:
