Thessaloniki–Bitola railway
Vodena (today Edessa) station in 1899
Overview
Status	Operational up toNeos Kafkasos
Owner	Hellenic Railways Organisation
Locale	Greece (West Macedonia, Central Macedonia), Republic of North Macedonia
Termini	Thessaloniki40°38′40″N22°55′46″E / 40.6444°N 22.9294°E /40.6444; 22.9294 Bitola41°01′11″N21°20′34″E / 41.0197°N 21.3429°E /41.0197; 21.3429
Stations	25
Service
Type	Regional/Commuter rail
Operator(s)	Hellenic Train
History
Opened	June 1894 (1894-06)
Technical
Line length	219 km (136 mi)
Number of tracks	Double trackThessaloniki–Platy, remaindersingle track[1]
Character	Secondary
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	only the sectionThessaloniki–Platy[1]
Route map Legend Line toAlexandroupoli andSofia 0.0 Thessaloniki toSkopje 10.9 Sindos fromSkopje 28.8 Adendro 36.3 Platy Line toAthens 38.6 Lianovergion 44.1 Alexandreia 49.6 Loutros 52.0 Kefalochori 54.8 Xechasmeni 57.4 Kouloura 62.5 Mesi 67.6 Veroia 79.1 Naoussa 86.8 Episkopi 90.1 Petraia 95.8 Skydra 111.7 Edessa 119.1 Agras 136.8 Arnissa 152.2 Agios Panteleimonas 159.2 Amyntaio Line toKozani 164.8 Xino Nero 178.5 Vevi Sitaria Florina 187.5 Mesonisi 200.4 Neos Kafkasos borderGreece/North Macedonia Kremenica 219 Bitola toPrilep This diagram: view talk edit

Therailway from Thessaloniki to Bitola is a 219 kilometres (136 mi) longrailway line, that connects the port cityThessaloniki inGreece withBitola in theRepublic of North Macedonia, viaVeroia,Edessa,Amyntaio andFlorina. The line was opened in 1894 under the name "Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir", when the area was part of theOttoman Empire.^[2] The section between the international border and Bitola is not used anymore, and as of 2025^[update] passenger services are restricted to the section between Thessaloniki and Florina.Makedonski Železnici also operates a daily service fromŽabeni to Bitola and onwards toSkopje. The easternmost section of the line,Platy–Thessaloniki, is part of the important connection towards Athens and Northern Greece.

The eastern terminus of the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is theNew Railway Station, Thessaloniki. Leaving the Athens–Thessaloniki mainline atPlaty, it runs alongside theAliakmon River, throughAlexandreia and then passes through to Veroia,Naousa, andSkydra, before climbing to Edessa and then, along the northern shore of Lake Vegoritida, reachingAmyntaio. At Amyntaio theKozani–Amyntaio railway branches off towardsKozani, servingPtolemaida and the power stations of the national power companyΔΕΗ. The main line continues towards the city ofFlorina. AtNeos Kafkasos, the international border is crossed, and after 219 km the city ofBitola in theRepublic of North Macedonia is reached. This short international connection is now disused, with all international traffic being routed viaIdomeni andGevgelija.

The main stations on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway are:

• New Railway Station, Thessaloniki
• Platy railway station
• Veroia railway station
• Edessa railway station
• Amyntaio railway station
• Florina railway station
• Bitola railway station

The idea of a trans-Macedonian railway had existed since the 1850s when, in January 1859, a Memorandum regarding the construction of theSalonica–Monastir (today's Bitola) line was signed.^[3] It, however, wasn't until 28 October 1890 that theOttomanSublime Porte gaveDeutsche Bank a concession to build the railway as a branch line of theOriental Railways and to possibly further extend it to an Albanian port.^[4][5]

"Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir" was set up as an Ottoman company, and its headquarters were in Constantinople. The construction works started in May 1891 and were completed in June 1894. Upon completion, the line operations were given to theChemins de fer Orientaux, which were already operating the Salonique to Mitrovica and Vranje railways. Whether BaronMaurice de Hirsch took an active role in this railway is debatable, considering he retired from the Balkan railway building shortly before this project began. While at that time, the practice of compulsory work was still in use, labour was cheap in rural Macedonia, and the engineers were reported to be enthusiastically welcomed.^[3]

After the end ofBalkan Wars in 1913, the line ended fully in Greek territory, except for the last 17 km toMonastir, which ended up inYugoslavia. The Greek government purchased the Greek part Salonica Monastir railway on 17 October 1925,^[6] and the railway became part of theHellenic State Railways.

Since 2019, there has been plans to renovate the line and restore the service between Bitola and Florina. As of 2025^[update], the only part has been actualised is the renovation of the line between Bitola and Kremenica, as well as building new stations atKravari andŽabeni. On the 1st February 2023, the section to Žabeni opened and had trains for the first time for 26 years. The project cost €17.2 million, of which €6 million came fromIPA funds and €11 million from the budget.^[7]

Locomotives of the Salonic Monastir Railway^[8]

The Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is used by the following passenger services:

• Intercity, Express and Regular services Athens–Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki–Kalampaka^[9]
• Local services Thessaloniki–Florina, Thessaloniki–Larissa and Skopje-Žabeni^[9]

• 
  Alexandria railway station
• 
  Skydra railway station
• 
  Agras railway station
• 
  Amyntaio railway station
• 
  Florina railway station

• Chemins de fer Orientaux

• Gounaris, Basil C. (1993).Steam over Macedonia, 1870-1912. East European Monographs.ISBN 978-0880332774.

• Cross-border railway lines in Greece
• Cross-border railway lines in North Macedonia
• Railway lines in Greece
• Railway lines in North Macedonia
• Rail transport in North Macedonia
• Standard-gauge railways in Greece
• Ottoman railways

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