Home / 2013 / Greece - April 2013 96
These photos were taken on a ten day trip to Greece in April 2013, see trip report.
8th April 2013: Athens to Thessaloniki via the Florina branch;
9th April 2013: Thessaloniki to Piraeus and Athens via the Volos, Stylida and Halkida branches;
10th April 2013: travelling from Athens to Patra, via the Diakofto - Kalavryta 750 mm gauge railway;
11th to 15th April 2013: 5-day railtour on the Peloponnese metre gauge railway system - also listed here;
16th April 2013: Athens local rail, metro and tram routes;
17th April 2013: Athens area.
8th April 2013: Athens to Thessaloniki via the Florina branch;
9th April 2013: Thessaloniki to Piraeus and Athens via the Volos, Stylida and Halkida branches;
10th April 2013: travelling from Athens to Patra, via the Diakofto - Kalavryta 750 mm gauge railway;
11th to 15th April 2013: 5-day railtour on the Peloponnese metre gauge railway system - also listed here;
16th April 2013: Athens local rail, metro and tram routes;
17th April 2013: Athens area.
- Florina
Florina station. - Florina
OSE DMU 520 205 / 520 108 at Florina in north-west Greece. - Volos
Volos station: OSE DMU 621 202 / 108 has just arrived from Larissa. The Larissa - Volos route was opened in 1881 at metre gauge, and was re-gauged to standard in 1960. However metre gauge tracks remained here until 1999 when the metre gauge line from Volos to Paleofarsalos and Kalambaka was closed, only the latter secton being converted to standard gauge. There were also 600 mm gauge tracks here to Milies until closure in 1971. - Volos
A line-up of "preserved" metre gauge steam locomotives adjacent to the station at Volos. - Volos
The remains of triple (1435 mm, 1000 mm and 600 mm) and dual gauge (1435 mm and 1000 mm) tracks just east of the station at Volos. - Volos
Triple (1435 mm, 1000 mm and 600 mm) gauge tracks remain under the tarmac of the road east of the station at Volos. - Volos
600mm gauge tracks in the station forecourt at Volos. - Stylida
An OSE class 520 DMU at Stylida, terminus of the branch from Lianokladi. - Halkida
The old terminus building at Halkida still stands but trains now terminate at a platform behind the camera. Though this route from Athína via the junction at Inoi is electrified, it is not clear that electric trains have ever run: the electrification through the central Athína route has not been completed. Just beyond the buffer stop is the narrow waterway between the mainland and the island of Evia. - Halkida
A pair of OSE Class 560 DMUs at the modern terminal platform at Halkida, terminus of the branch line from Inoi. All trains work through Athens to Piraeus. - Piraeus
The frontage of the mainline station at Piraeus; the harbour is behind the camera and to the right. This was the terminus of the former Piraeus Athens and Peloponnese Railway, which between 1884 and 1902 built a total of 722 km of metre gauge track, the largest metre gauge network in Europe. The metre gauge route into Piraeus was closed in 2005 and was converted to standard gauge. - Athína (Athens)
The now-disused metre gauge station building at Athína (Athens), as viewed from my hotel bedroom balcony in the evening twilight. The metre gauge tracks were on the far side of the building. The current standard gauge route passes just beyond the wall. The view is towards Piraeus. - Diakofto
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: Diakofto station, the 10:15 departure to Kalavryta. - Diakofto - Kalavryta railway
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: the route passes under overhanging rock in the river gorge between Diakofto and Mega Spileon. - Diakofto - Kalavryta railway
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: waterfall alongside the line between Diakofto and Mega Spileon. - Diakofto - Kalavryta railway
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: part of the route has been realigned to cope with larger rolling stock, here two old tunnels can be seen, with an underbridge between them. - Mega Spileon
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: Mega Spileon, the main intermediate station. - Diakofto - Kalavryta railway
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: snow-capped mountains, some over 2500 m high, can be seen in the distance. - Kalavryta
Diakofto - Kalavryta railway: Kalavryta station, the summit of the line, and the 12:22 arrival / 12:27 departure. - Patra
Looking down from the balcony of my hotel room in Patra towards the railway station. A plinthed steam locomotive can be seen, as can the stern of one of the ferries that crosses the Ionian Sea to Brindisi in Italy. - Patra
Krauss 2-6-0T metre gauge loco, probably Zs.553, plinthed at Patra. - Patra
A pair of Stadler metre-gauge DMUs arriving at the main railway station in Patra on one of the hourly Patra suburban workings between Agios Vasilios and Agios Andreas. These and the Olympia - Pyrgos - Katakolo workings are the only metre gauge passenger services currently running in Greece. - Agios Vasilios
Agios Vasilios station, looking towards Arachovitika - a proposed extension to the Patra suburban service. - Patra
Route map of the Patra suburban rail system, as shown inside one of the Stadler DMUs working the service. Note the proposed extension beyond Agios Vasilios to Arachovitika. - Agios Andreas
A pair of Stadler DMUs at Agios Andreas, just south of Patra, working the Patra suburban service. The dome of the Agios Andreas church is visible over the houses, to the left of the train. - Agios Andreas
Stored unservicable - Alsthom metre gauge loco 9204 at Agios Andreas, just south of Patra. - Agios Andreas
The south end station throat at Agios Andreas, looking towards Pyrgos. There is clearly no regular traffic of any sort over this section, but our railtour would run this way next day. - Agios Andreas
The station building at Agios Andreas, southern terminus of the metre gauge suburban service running in the Patra area. - Agios Andreas
The Greek Orthodox church of Agios Andreas (Saint Andrew) is close to the Patra suburban rail station of the same name. Constructed between 1908 and 1974, it is the largest church in Greece and the second largest Byzantine style church in the Balkans. From 1964 it has contained relics of the apostle Saint Andrew. - Patra
ALCo locos A.9101 and A.9105 arrive at Patra with the railtour stock. At the time these were the only two operational metre gauge locos on the OSE Peloponnese network. - Vrachneika
Photo stop at Vrachneika, just south of Patra. At this point the railtour stock consists of one water tank wagon, one saloon coach and three vans, two of which have been fitted out with seats. - Varda
Photo stop at Varda, between Patra and Pyrgos. - Pyrgos
The railtour has arrived at Pyrgos; the two locos are released from the stock so that A.9105 can be put on the far end of the train for the run to Katakolo; A.9101 will be put back on this end of the train. - Pyrgos
A.9105 ready to haul the train from Pyrgos to Katakolo, A.9101 is on the rear and will haul the train back from Katakolo to Pyrgos. - Katakolo
A.9105 at the buffer stops at Katakolo, terminus of a branch that runs westwards from Pyrgos. - Olympia
The remains of the Stadium in the archaeological site at Olympia. - Olympia
Another view of the archaeological site at Olympia, showing the Treasuries in the foreground. - Olympia
Olympia station: OSE metre gauge DMU 4305 arrives from Pyrgos to form the 07:33 return working to Katakolo. With over half of the railtour participants staying in Olympia, the platform was rather more crowded than normal - there were only two or three locals waiting for the train. The Olympia - Pyrgos - Katakolo and Patra suburban services are the only metre gauge passenger services currently running in Greece. - Alfioussa
South of Pyrgos, the river bridge at Alfioussa provided an opportunity for photos of A.9101. - Kaiafa
A.9101 leads the railtour over a river bridge near Kaiafa. - Kaiafa
A.9105 at the rear of the railtour crosses over a river bridge near Kaiafa. - Kaiafa
A.9101 leads the railtour through the trees and sand dunes south of Kaiafa. The tank wagon had been removed from the train that morning at Pyrgos. - Zevgolatio
A.9101 at Zevgolatio. Zevgolatio is where the routes from Pyrgos via Kalonero and Korinthos via Tripoli converge, some 35 km north of Kalamata. - Kalamata
A.9101 at the main town station at Kalamata. - Kalamata
At Kalamata the line continues, though out of use, beyond the town station to this station near the harbour. An open air museum has been set up with a number of metre gauge locomotives, coaches, railcars and other vehicles. This loco is 2-8-2 Di class 7.119 built by Breda in 1951. - Kalamata
A.9105 ready to leave Kalamata with the railtour. - Zevgolatio
A.9105 leading the railtour at Zevgolatio, where the lines to Kalonero and Korinthos diverge. - Zevgolatio
The railway between Zevgolatio and Tripoli climbs nearly 700 m, often via a series of horseshoe turns up the sides of valleys. This view, out of the side of the train, is looking back down the valley towards Zevgolatio. - Chranoi
During a photo run-past at Chranoi, A.9105 leads the railtour along the valley side. - Chranoi
The railtour crosses the viaduct at Chranoi during a photo run-past. - Manaris
The railtour crosses the viaduct at Manaris during a photo run-past. - Manaris
The railtour crosses the viaduct at Manaris during a photo run-past. - Tripoli
Lunch break for the railtour at Tripoli. - Eleochori
The railtour crosses a viaduct near Eleochori during a photo run-past. - Achladokampos
Viewed from the train, the new viaduct at Achladokampos comes into view from some distance away. This viaduct was built in 1974 to replace the original destroyed in 1944. In between these dates a line was built up each side of the valley to a reversal point called Sirtis. This short-term route is now abandoned but the northern leg is used for stock storage. Some of the stored carriages can be seen in this picture, to the right of the large viaduct. - Achlodokampos
The railtour has stopped just before Achlodokampos viaduct to allow participants to alight for photographs. The southern side of the temporary alignment, built to bypass the viaduct damaged in 1944, is clearly visible. - Achladokampos
The railtour crosses the 1974-built viaduct at Achladokampos during a photo run-past. - Achladokampos
The railtour crosses the 1974-built viaduct at Achladokampos during a photo run-past. - Achlodokampos
Between the tree and the new Achlodokampos viaduct, the remains of one arch of the original viaduct - damaged in 1944 - can be seen. - Argos
The railtour reverses at Argos to take the 10 km branch to Nafplio. - Nafplio
A.9101 on the railtour at Nafplio, the terminus of a 10 km branch from Argos. The old coach used to form the station ticket office. This is a new station near the harbour, the original station near the town centre was closed in the 1990s. - Nafplio
A.9105 at the new station at Nafplio, with the fortress in the background. - Korinthos
The railtour in the metre gauge platform at Korinthos new station. - Korinthos
This view of the new station at Korinthos shows, from left to right: the metre gauge platform; a dual-gauge platform, and three standard gauge platforms. There are also several goods lines beyond. Very well equipped for just one standard gauge passenger train per hour in each direction! - Korinthos
Taken from the railtour returning from the new station at Korinthos, this view shows the rather overgrown route to the old station, with the electrified standard gauge line onwards to Kiato passing overhead. - Korinthos
The railtour is arriving at Korinthos old station. - Korinthos
This view taken looking west from Korinthos old station shows the divergence of the lines towards Triplos and Kalamata (left, the way the railtour arrived) and Patra (right, disused). - Mili
A.9101 with the railtour at Mili. On the climb towards Tripoli this loco kept shutting down, so rear end assistance from A.9105 was necessary. - Achlodokampos
A view of Achlodokampos viaduct from the eponymous station, a few km away across the valley. There was no planned photo stop here, but A.9101 was receiving attention. - Achlodokampos
A.9105 at Achlodokampos while A.9101 is further attended to. The train had departed a little while ago but came back when A.9101 continued to give trouble. Off to the right was a small bar which twice received a large number of unexpected customers! - Achlodokampos
A.9101 being topped up with water at Achlodokampos. - Achlodokampos
A view from the train of the northern temporary alignment diverging just north of the viaduct at Achlodokampos. Some of the stored carriages can be seen. The junction points here appeared to be intact. Compare this view with a photo taken in April 2016. - Tripoli
During a break at Tripoli the train was reformed to put A.9105 on the front and A.9101 on the rear. Since running "long hood first" is disliked for visibility reasons, A.9105 was run around the depot/station triangle here at Tripoli, this view shows this manoeuvre in progress. The draisine had had to be moved to get a clear road. - Tripoli
The railtour at Tripoli, re-formed and ready for departure. - Megalopolis
Arrival at Megalopolis was rather late but still we were welcomed by many local people. This was possibly the first passenger train here for more than ten years. - Megalopolis
At Megalopolis the locals are taking nearly as many photographs as the enthusiasts. - Kalonero
To save time, and to cover some rare track, we took the curve avoiding Kalonero station to get to Kyparissia. Our outward route can be seen here: none of the track in this area was in particularly good condition. - Kyparissia
Despite being over two hours late, and it now being dark, we were met at Kyparissia by hundreds of local people. Even up to a few days before the trip, there was a risk that we might not get there; however apparently work parties of locals helped clear the station area and some of the track to allow us clear passage. - Kyparissia
The platform at Kyparissia was covered with benches groaning with free food and drink provided for the railtour participants by local people and businesses. - Kyparissia
The railtour ready to leave Kyparissia. - Kalonero
The railtour has arrived at Kalonero: note the bar on the platform, which is almost a standard feature. Shame there are no trains, normally! A.9101 had dropped off the rear of the train at the south end of the triangle, to go round the triangle, so that it would be the right way around for leading from Pyrgos. - Kalonero
At the south end of Kalonero station A.9101 has just arrived back from its run around the triangle so that it would be the right way around for leading from Pyrgos. - Amaliada
Not sure about the colour scheme here at Amaliada. - Kavasilla
At Kavasilla a branch went off westwards, seen here, to Loutra (and a branch led off that line to Kyllini). These routes closed to passengers many years ago. - Varda
Lunch and photo stop at Varda. - Lappa
Photo stop at Lappa. - Patra
Last photo of the railtour after arrival at Patra. - Kiato
Kiato new station, looking towards Athína (Athens). This is the present terminus of standard gauge trains from Athens Airport, with just one service per hour. Note the two dual gauge tracks, which appear to serve no purpose whatsoever since the metre gauge route both west and east of here has been cut. - Korinth Canal
A hasty shot out of the EMU window as we cross the Korinth Canal. - Athína (Athens) Larissa Station
Looking northwards from the Ariston Hotel to Athína (Athens) main (Larissa) station. Only two platforms are in use, on the right side adjacent to the station building. To the left, several new platforms and their canopies are visible, but they are trackless. - Athína (Athens)
Another view of the disused metre gauge station building at Athína (Athens), looking generally towards Piraeus. The metre gauge tracks were on the far side of the building. The current standard gauge route passes behind the camera. - SKA (Acharnes Railway Center)
A view looking south at SKA (Acharnes Railway Center). To the extreme left is the north - south main line carrying main line trains between Thessaloníki and Athína (Athens), and suburban services between Piraeus and Halkida. Left to right in the distance, but not visible, is the electric suburban service between the Airport and Korinthos/Kiato. Other platforms at lower centre and upper right have never seen any passenger services. Presumably it was intended to construct tunnels through the hill behind the camera. - SKA (Acharnes Railway Center)
Looking east at SKA (Acharnes Railway Center) towards Koronthis/Kiato. Normally the Siemens Desiro EMU visible here would be working a service to the Airport, but on this date the line behind the camera was blocked for engineering works. The upper level tracks are for the north - south Thessaloníki - Athína main line. - Piraeus
The train shed of Piraeus station on Line 1 of the Athens Metro. This section of line was built by the Hellenic Electric Railways company in 1869. - SEF (Stadium of Peace and Friendship)
The tram terminus at SEF (Stadium of Peace and Friendship), not far from Piraeus and adjacent to the Neo Faliro stop on Metro Line 1. There are currently three tram routes in Athens, effectively three branches radiating from a triangular junction. - Syntagma
Athens trolleybus 7073 on a route 4 working at Syntagma in central Athína (Athens). 112 of these trolleybuses were built by Van Hool in 1999-2001 with propulsion equipment from Alstom Transport at Preston in England.