Peloponnese railways

[martinr1]

Has anyone the current situation and what may happen in 2018. My wife and I are keen to holiday there next year and I would like to see something of the once extensive rail system. Any help appreciated - Martin

 

[rf_ioliver]

Hi,

I think the only open lines are the "commuter rail" network around Patrai - (Rio-Patrai), no much, and a shuttle between Purgos and Olympia. Other than that everything ends at Corinth from Athens.

I found a discussion on TripAdvisor from 2008 that might be informative: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowT..._Railway_has_it_reopened_yet-Peloponnese.html

OSE's ( ose.gr) website seems to show stations open from Corinth to Kalamata, but the whole website looks as if it has been designed by someone who has mixed modern CSS/HTML skills with all the design effort seen with pre 2000 MySpace websites - honestly, it is just missing a flew animated GIFs. Don't bother to change the language to English either, unless you're fluent in Greek.

The public website http://www.trainose.gr/en/ isn't that much better .... Seems you can travel from Athens to Patrai (via Kiato), but nothing for anywhere else on the Peloponnese.. ps: the booking system is a work of art ...

Edit: some maps from the above:

Intercity Network - the only things on the Peloponnese are the Patrai suburban networks, Pirgos-Olympia and the Diakpto-Kalavirta railway:
http://www.trainose.gr/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Χαρτης-Δικτυου1.pdf

http://www.trainose.gr/en/passenger-activity/suburban-railway/patras-suburban-railway/


t.

Ian

 

[martinr1]

Hi Ian

Many thanks for the info

Martin

 

[Groningen]

From Wikipedia: The economic crisis in Greece led to the suspension of all passenger and freight services on the metre gauge railway system in the Peloponnese in 2011. It is unlikely services will ever resume as a publicly run system, although some privately-chartered services occasionally run. A short section through the port city of Patras remains open as a suburban railway.

There seems to be a 1435 mm line from Athens to Kiato. But further nothing.

 

[martinr1]

Many thanks - Martin

 

[Groningen]

Wikipedia gives this systemmap of Greece.

 

[ac6000cw]

We managed to ride most of the metre-gauge system around the Peloponnese in 2003 (all by DMU though - missed out on being hauled by one of the old Alco's ). Great pity there is not much left in use, but away from the coastal areas it's pretty hilly, making the rail routes in those areas twisty and slow - I think express buses could easily beat the train schedules.

It's a great part of the world to explore though - away from the big towns I remember it being pretty unspoilt and very scenic. If you are interested in ancient civilisations and ruins, Mystras (a Unesco World Heritage site) near Sparta is really interesting to wander around - amongst other things the remains of a Byzantine town are there.

From what I remember, the main rail centres (in terms of having rolling stock stabled there etc.) were Corinth, Patras, Pyrgos and Kalamata, so those are the places I'd head for if you want to see what's left (even if it isn't moving).

 

[martinr1]

Many thanks for your contribution - Martin

 

[martinr1]

Somebody out there must have a little more information?

 

[davetheguard]

I visited the Peloponnese on an organised tour in October 2014. Although special trains etc. were hired by the tour operator, I did try to do a bit of research myself online before the trip; particularly as we were extending it by a few extra days staying in central Athens on our own. I must say I found it very hard to work out what was running, and to where, with much out-of-date information on the web, clunky websites, and confusion caused by differing spellings of station names.

The situation regarding the Peloponnese itself in October 2014 was that the only rail services operating as follows:

1. Standard gauge EMU service running between Athens Airport and Kiato (one stop west of Corinth);
2. Narrow gauge tourist DMU's running up the superbly scenic rack railway from Diakopton to Kalavrita;
3.Narrow gauge DMU's operating a suburban service within the city of Patras;

In addition, some charter trains (DMU's) were operating hired by boat cruise companies from the port of Katakolo via Pirgos up to the mountain resort of Olympia.

I hope this helps in some small way.

 

[martinr1]

Thanks for the info - Martin

 

[davetheguard]

Here are some 2014 pictures of the partly rack worked line from Diakopton to Kalavrita; well worth a visit if you have a chance.

 

[martinr1]

Thank you for the pictures - it looks delightful

 

[davetheguard]

If you have a free day in Athens before or after your time in the Peloponnese, I can recommend a trip to the pleasant seaside town (and branch line terminus) of Chalkis, north of Athens. In 2014, it was advertised as a through service from Piraeus port in the Athens suburbs (see picture 345 ), via Athens main station (aka Larissa) to Chalkis; but in reality we had to change at the main line junction station of Inoi from our DMU to an EMU for the last few kilometres on the short electrified Chalkis Branch itself.

 

[martinr1]

Looks wonderful - many thanks

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Not in the Peleponnese, but it looks like a major new section of route is about to open this year in Greece.
This is a 108km replacement of the winding route between Tithorea and Domokos on the Athens-Thessaloniki main line.
http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...he-longest-railway-tunnel-in-the-balkans.html

GREECE: The first train ran on the recently-completed 54 km Tithorea – Lianokladi line on February 2, following the formal handover of the new line on January 31. The route forms part of a 106 km double track alignment which is being built between Tithorea and Domokos to replace a 122 km single track route with steep grades and sharp curves which formed a bottleneck on the Athens – Thessaloniki main line.

This route is on my list for a trip next year and is through a mountainous area.
Usually new lines cut the journey time but are not as scenic (eg the new Gotthard route, or Bologna-Florence).
I wonder what my chances are of travelling on the old alignment next year?
The new route is quite clear on Google maps, diving under two mountain ranges either side of Lamia while otherwise keeping to the plain of Thessaly.