Trip to Greece - August 2022
General Notes
A brief trip to Greece to use up some InterRail days and cover some track there that has re-opened since I last visited the country. Flight to Thessaloniki, one night in Lamia, one night in Athina, flight home from there.
Note: OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados), the train operator, was re-branded as Hellenic Train during 2022, but I have kept with the original acronym OSE.
Operating Company Abbreviations
- OSE - Organismos Sidirodromon Ellados - the train operator in Greece. Re-branded as Hellenic Train during 2022.
Track gauge
Standard gauge (1435 mm).
| Place | Arrive | Depart | Train | Traction details & notes |
Monday 8th August 2022
| Timperley | 03:52 | taxi | ||
| Manchester Airport T1 (MAN) | 04:06 | 05:55 | EZY1839 | Easyjet G-EZGX A320 push-back 05:58, take-off 06:32 from runway 23L |
| Thessaloníki Airport (SKG) | 11:30 | 12:15 | '01X' | landed 11:43 on runway 34, on stand 11:47 - bus |
| Thessaloníki (railway station) | 13:00 | 14:45 | IC 59 | OSE EL 120-015 |
| Lianokladi | 17:06 | 17:25 | arr 13 late - OSE bus dep 10 late | |
| Lamia (railway station) | 17:50 | |||
| New passenger track today: new main line between Domokos and Lianokladi. | ||||
| Overnight: Overnight Hotel Athina (1 night). Today's photos. | ||||
| Notes: Everything worked well today. Main aim today was the new main line between Domokos and Lianokladi, opened and electrified a year or so ago to replace the original very curvy and non-electrified route. Bus to Lamia (on the Stylida branch from Lianokladi), only the first few trains per day are trains, according to the OSE schedules. Lamia is a decent size regional centre with several hotels and plenty of paces to eat; though a steep walk up to the centre from the station. |
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Tuesday 9th August 2022
| Lamia | 10:30 | OSE bus | ||
| Lianokladi | 10:55 | 11:07 | IC 53 | OSE EL 120-014 dep 11 late |
| Athína | 13:03 | 14:51 | 1318 | OSE EMU 460-115 |
| Ano Liosia | 14:51 | 15:51 | 1320 | OSE EMU 460-118 |
| Kiato | 16:55 | 17:03 | 308 | OSE DMU 560-104+560-108 |
| Aegio | 17:55 | 18:00 | 309 | OSE DMU 560-108+560-104 |
| Kiato | 18:52 | 18:59 | 1329 | EMU 460-110 |
| Athína | 20:21 | |||
| Omonio | 22:23 | 'M2' | Athína metro | |
| Stathmos Larissa | 22:26 | |||
| New passenger track today: Kiato - Aegio. | ||||
| Overnight: Overnight Hotel Ariston (1 night). Today's photos. | ||||
| Notes: My original plan was to get the 08:09 train from Lamia to Lianokladi, to travel on the only pair of trains that are booked to run via the old main line between Lianokladi and Tithorea. I was in considerable doubt that these would actually run, as the other services via the intermediate stations are in the schedules as buses; they are simply a remnant of the service before the new faster route opened a couple of years ago. I later worked out that the train from Lamia was in fact a bus, but I hadn't seen this from where I was standing on the station platform. This of course meant that I missed the two "rare" trains; I didn't need the track as I'd been that way many times before the new line opened. However if they had run, I would have seen it arrive back in Lianokladi when I did eventually get there on the later bus. Also what I could see of the relevant track looked rather rusty even for what I assume would be a lightweight DMU. Nothing significant missed but I'd like to know the true situation. Anyway I continued to Athína to check into my usual hotel there, opposite the station. Then to the Peloponnese to cover the extension beyond Kiato to Aegio that opened in June 2020; I had an hour spare so spent it at Ano Liosia looking at the old metre gauge route there. |
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Wednesday 10th August 2022
| Athína | 09:21 | OSE EMU 460-109 | ||
| Renti | 09:30 | 09:32 | DMU 560-107+560-106 | |
| Piraeus | 09:37 | |||
| walk to Piraeus metro stop | ||||
| Piraeus | 10:15 | 'M1' | Athína metro | |
| Faliro | 10:20 | |||
| walk to Neo Faliro tram stop | ||||
| Neo Faliro | 10:37 | '7' | tram 20052 via Agia Triada (Piraeus loop) | |
| Asklipio Voulas | 11:48 | 12:06 | '7' | tram 20037 |
| Platio Vaso Katrak | 12:14 | 13:05 | '7' | tram 20059 lunch break |
| Pikrodafni | 13:22 | 13:25 | '6' | tram 20055 |
| Syntagma | 14:03 | |||
| walk to Syntagma metro stop | ||||
| Syntagma | 14:19 | 'M2' | Athína metro | |
| Elliniko | 14:35 | 14:43 | 'M2' | Athína metro |
| Syntagma | 14:58 | 15:06 | 'M3' | Athína metro |
| Nikea | 15:22 | 15:24 | 'M3' | Athína metro |
| Dou Kissis Plakentias | 15:58 | 16:09 | OSE EMU 460-115 | |
| Ano Liosia | 16:25 | 16:30 | OSE EMU 460-115 | |
| Nerantziotissa | 16:41 | 16:43 | 'M1' | Athína metro |
| Attiki | 17:05 | |||
| walk to Athína (Stathmos Larissa) | ||||
| Athína | 19:05 | OSE EMU 460-101 | ||
| Athens Airport (ATH) | 19:49 | 22:55 | EZY1942 | Easyjet G-EZGK A320 push-back 23:24, take-off 23:42 from runway 03L |
| Manchester Airport (MAN) | 00:55 | ??:?? | landed 01:08 on runway 23R, on stand 01:12 - taxi | |
| Timperley | ??:?? | Today's photos. | ||
| New passenger track today: Proastiakos: SKA Kiato line platform to Metamorfosi; Metro route 2 extension from Agios Dimitrios to Elliniko; Metro route 3 extension from Egaleo to Nikaia (further extension to Piraeus/Dimotiko Theatro opens summer 2022?); Tram route T7 (former T4/T5) westwards extension from SEF to Piraeus; Tram route T7 south to Asklipieio Voulas (former T3/T5); Tram route T6 east side of triangle (Syntagma – Pikrodafni) (former T5). | ||||
| Notes: A day finishing off things around Athína. First was the new route 7 tram loop around Piraeus, then down to the southern end of route 7 at Asklipio Voulas. Back to Platio Vaso Katraki for some lunch, then on to Pikrodafni where route 6 starts, to the end of that route at Syntagma. I had previously done Piraeus to Syntagma, that route no longer runs, and the north curve at Pikrodafni which I did then no longer has a service! Next to do the two metro extensions, line 2 to Elliniko and line 3 to Nikea. Finally a section of the Airport - Kiato route where it bypasses Athína that had been shut for engineering works when I was here some years ago (I had tried to do this yesterday but the train I was planning to get was cancelled). Finally by train from Athína to the Airport for a late flight home. |
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