Greece - General Information

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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 Hellenic Train.

The previous operator, Trainose/ΤραινΟΣΕ, was sold to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane on 14 September 2017; in 2022 the company rebranded as Hellenic Train.

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).

Official Website

Hellenic Train

Language

Greek. There is no single transcription mapping between Greek script and Roman script. In addition Greek spellings have changed over the years and some stations may bear names printed using now obsolete Greek spellings. In smaller places served by the railway system, away from the main tourist areas, older people may only speak one of the Greek dialects.

Placenames shown in EGTRE endeavour to use the same transliteration as the journey selection box in Journey planner. Note that in some cases a different English spelling is used on station nameboards and as mentioned above another spelling may be carved / painted on the station. A final source of confusion is within the journey planner where yet another spelling is sometimes used in the train timings pop-up window.

Currency

Euro

UIC code

numeric 73; alpha GR

Timetable

Journey Planner

Journey planner in English

Note that trains shown in the journey planner with train numbers prefixed "C" and suffixed "(ΛΕΩΦ)" are operated by buses.

Downloadable Timetable

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

Printed Timetable

None.

Engineering Information

The Hellenic Trains announcements webpage, gives details of engineering work or long term closures.

Maps

Printed Maps

Web-based Maps

Ticketing

Hellenic Train and Proastikos trains and buses can all be used by tickets purchased online. Purchase of long-distance trains, suburban trains, and the narrow gauge services from Ano Lekhonia to Milies or Diakofto to Kalavryta is possible without registering as a "Member"; use the trip finder / search train schedules function to identify and select the train / connecting trains you want to book, then click the "Seat selection and Passengers" button at the top right, to select your seats (on long distance trains or buses), add the passenger's name and click "Payment" in the top right. These services can be very crowded so reservations are desirable but Reserved seats are not marked as such. Note there is a discount for anyone over 65 of between 20% and 50%.

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

A 2023 English language version of the network statement is available here. A 2024 Greek language version is available here.

Gauge

Standard, including the new Athens - Kiato (- Patras) line. The Peloponnese lines from Piraeus to Patras, Olympia and Kalamata etc are/were metre gauge. The rack line from Diakopto to Kalavryta is 750 mm gauge. The Pelion line from Ano Lechonia to Milies is 600 mm gauge.

Electrification

25 kV 50 Hz.

Athens metro and tramways are 750 V dc. Metro Line 3 services to the airport change from third rail DC to 25 kV AC overhead at Plakentias.

A contract was signed in July 2023 for electrification of the 71 km Kiato – Rododaphni line.

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 and Kalivia (metre gauge)
  • Thessaly Museum Railways Volos – Palaeofarsalos (metre gauge). A 10 km section between Velestino and Aerino was operated for a period by the museum railway, but the website does not show any recent services. The rest of the line is already out of use. There was a railway museum at Volos station but no recent information is available.
  • 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 Offical web site System diagram at UrbanRail.Net
Thessaloniki Offical web site System diagram at UrbanRail.Net

A driverless metro has been under construction in Thessaloniki for at least 25 years, the 10 km of Line 1, From New Railway Station to Nea Helvetia, finally opened on 30 November 2024. In July 2013, a contract was signed for a 5 km branch from 25 Martiou to Micra, which is set to open in 2025 as Line 2.

Trams/LRT-Systems

Athína (Athens). The UrbanRail.Net site has a basic diagram of the system.

Recent and Future Changes

There are various infrastructure improvements planned or in progress but completion dates for those underway have been missed by months; no doubt the Country's financial situation and protracted sale of OSE to FS has not been helping. This list is not thought to be complete and any updates would be appreciated by the Compilers.

Future Changes

Infrastructure Changes

  • The previously-metre gauge branch from Isthmos to Loutraki is being converted to standard gauge and electrified. Opening to passengers is expected in 2025. The new station in Loutraki is expected to be some distance short of the location of the original metre gauge station.
  • Work was due to start in early February 2024 on the reconstruction of 34.6 km of the former metre gauge Ano Losia - Elefsina - Megara line (west of Athens and south of the line to Kiato) as part of the suburban system.
  • Electrification of the Larisa - Volos and Palaeofarsalos - Kalambaka branches. Tenders may have been issued for this project.
  • It is planned to put the 3.2 km northern exit from Athina main station underground and quadruple the line.
  • Extensions are planned to the Athens suburban system to Rafina (on the coast east of Athens) and from from Koropi (on the line to the airport) to Lavrio, in the far south of the peninsula. Contracts had been put out to tender by ERGOSE, but "streamlining" of the projects by the Ministry of Transport has postponed them - possibly indefinitely.
  • Train services were withdrawn between [Florina] - Messonissia and Kremenica (North Macedonia) from an unknown date (but prior to 2004) owing to tensions between Greece and what was then FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Messonissia - Neos Kafkasos had been rebuilt by 2014. Reconstruction onwards across the border, and by MZ southwards from Bitola, was completed in 2019 but no traffic has passed.
  • A replacement route of approximately 21km is under construction between Polykastro and Idomeni which will eliminate an old river bridge and lengthy riverside section. Completion was expected in 2021 but a contract to modernise signalling, track and electrification on the entire line from Thessaloniki, scheduled to take three years, was awarded at the end of March 2022, so it will presumably not be finished until 2025 at the earliest.
  • In 2017 Patras city council decided to require that the Athens - Kiato - Aegion - Patras standard gauge line should run underground for 10 km from Rio, or bypass Patras altogether, rather than using the present metre gauge alignment. The present situation is unknown but the EU may demand that their funding is returned if the line is not built. At December 2022 there is no sign of any work on electrifying Kiato - Aegion.
  • There have been plans to revive parts of the Peloponnese narrow gauge network if proven viable, by means of joint ventures involving OSE, local authorities and businesses. However, a significant landslide has rendered the section between Zevgolatio and Korinthos unusable as all operable stock is to the west of Zevgolatio.

Changes in 2024

Train Service Changes

On 30 November 2024, Line 1 of the new Thessaloniki metro, covering 10 km from New Railway Station to Nea Helvetia opened. see Project Website.

On 21 October 2024, services resumed between Alexandrúpoli and Orestiáda.

On 1 October 2024, services resumed between Thessaloniki - Serres. Later in 2024 services resumed between Serres and Drama.

Changes in 2023

Train Service Changes

As a result of damage caused by Storm Daniel on 22 September 2023, trains ceased to run between Lianokladi and Thessaloniki, Paleofarsalos and Kalambaka, and Larissa and Volos.

  • Larissa - Volos: over 60 km damaged
  • Larissa - Domokos: about 50 km damaged
  • Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka: about 80 km damaged

It was initially reported that it would probably take 2 years to repair the lines fully.

Services were restored on 16 December 2023 as follows (though some have since been replaced by buses):

  • Through trains between Athens and Thessaloniki.
  • Thessaloniki - Drama.
  • Alexandroupolos Port - Ormenio.
  • Plati - Edessa.
  • Lianokladi - Stylida.
  • Lianokladi - Bralos - Tithorea.

Following the serious accident on 28 February 2023 at Tempi on the Athens-Thessaloniki main line, the whole country's rail services were suspended. Limited services resumed in stages across the country.

Changes in 2022

None known.

Changes in 2021

Train Service Changes

Trams commenced running between Neo Faliro and a loop in Piraeus via Agia Triada at the western end of the Athems tramway, on 15 December 2021.

Trams resumed running between Neo and Palaio Faliro at the western end of the Athems tramway, after 10 months, on 20 January 2021 so restoring the system to its full extent. Work included preparing connections for the new extension to Piraeus.

Older Changes

For details of older changes see Greece - Older General Information.

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.

See also

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