As of 2019[update], there is regular passenger service twice-daily to Alexandroupoli with connecting services to Dikaia, as well as international services to Sofia, to Belgrade via Skopje. The international service to Istanbul ("Friendship Express") (as of 2023) remains suspended.
JSC line profileRoute map of the old Chemin de Fer Jonction Salonique–Constantinople.Strimon(as) railway station (Σταθμός). The line to the Bulgarian capital Sofia branches off here, alas services as far as Kulata have been suspended since 2018.
The line is single line. On the whole, the route has 36 tunnels and 251 bridges.[3] It follows a particularly scenic route. The route first leads through a small pass where, at 320 meters above sea level, it reaches the highest point between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli before descending into the valley of the Nestos River.
The original track was built for vehicles with 13 t axle load. The maximum gradients were below 20‰ with one section of 25 km reaching 25‰; the original rails had a weight of 30 kg/m except in large gradients sections where the rails had a weight of 34 kg/m. The steel sleepers used weighed 50 kg.
In 2018, the superstructure of the 116 km section Thessaloniki-Serres consisted of UIC 54 rails laid on B70 concrete sleepers. On the remaining 326 km to Alexandroupoli, rails with UIC 50 or UIC 54 profiles are laid on wooden, steel or bi-block concrete sleepers. The route between Thessaloniki and Strymonas is now suitable for 22.5 t axle load and can be used at 160 km/h. The remainder of the section is for 20 tons of axle load.
HistoryEdit
The Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman Jonction Salonique-Constantinople, abbreviated JSC, was founded in October 1892. This company obtained, on September 10, 1892, the concession to build and operate a railway 442 km line between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli, named Dedeagatch at the time. In Alexandroupoli, the line would join the existing line to Constantinople and Edirne, via Pythio, operated by the Chemins de fer Orientaux.[4] The JSC was formed according to Ottoman law with its main office in Istanbul and the shareholder committee in Paris.
The line fulfilled the strategic goal of a direct connection from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, by-passing Serbian or Bulgarian territories. Thessaloniki was (since 1888) connected with Constantinople by the Chemins de fer Orientaux, but this connection went through the before-mentioned countries, which were once part of the Ottoman Empire but split off at a later stage. The line was carefully built away from the border and the coast to avoid destruction by warfare[citation needed]. Except near Alexandroupoli the minimum distance from enemy countries and the sea was 15 km in order to keep the route out of artillery and gunboat fire reach. Alexandroupoli received at a later stage a bypass route in the North of the town fulfilling the original requirement. This route had several horseshoe curves to master the steep grades in the geographic wise difficult country and is today closed and razed. Also Thessaloniki received a Northern bypass, which connected the station Kallindria with Karasuli on the line to Mitrovica.
Under the guidance of the Ministry of War the concessionaires were obliged to build 26 stations. Some of them were military stations equipped with all the necessary facilities for the prompt embarkation and disembarkation of troops and war materials.[5] Furthermore, the company was obliged to own and maintain at least 848 wagons; namely: 90 passenger carriages of three classes; 30 baggage wagons; 528 boxcars; 200 gondolas. The boxcars and gondolas must be capable of transporting troops, horses and cattle, guns, etc., so that 27 complete trains can be organised – one more train than the number of stations. For the transport of soldiers, 130 of the 200 gondolas should be capable of being covered as quickly as possible if required. Furthermore, the railway had to keep sufficient benches in the store to allow the soldiers to sit during the transport.[6]
In 1895, The Swiss Bank für Orientalische Eisenbahnen purchased 30000 stocks out of 100000 issued, giving it a minority shareholding.[7] Bank für Orientalische Eisenbahnen was also the owner of the Chemins de fer Orientaux and of the Salonica Monastir Railway. The main objective of the Chemins de fer Orientaux was to secure an alternate route between Serbia and Istanbul through Greece should the main route through Bulgaria be closed by the Bulgarian government. After the end of Balkan Wars in 1913, the line ended fully in Greek territory. The Greek government purchased the JSC in 1920,[8] and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways.
The Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli railway is used by the following passenger services:
Intercity and regular services Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli.[10] These run twice daily (2019 service). The journey time is 7–8 hours, which is more than twice that by road following completion of the A2 motorway or Egnatia Odos (modern road)
Due to the overdue necessary maintenance, the line has been partially closed for passenger routes, with the Drama-Xanthi section operating with OSE buses and commercial trains only. There are plans for Drama-Toxotes to be included in the tourist itineraries.[11] Due to these events, the southern route through Kavala, from Thessaloniki to Alexandroupoli, is promoted. Construction contractor for the variant is expected in late 2023.[12]
^"2014/15 Intercity schedule" (PDF). TrainOSE. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
^. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
Further readingEdit
Basil C. Gounaris: Steam over Macedonia 1870–1912. Socio-Economic Change and the Railway Factor. East European Monographs. Columbia University Press, New York 1993. ISBN 0-88033-277-8
NN: Les locomotives pour trains de voyageurs du chemin de fer Ottoman Jonction Salonique–Constantinople . In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung 27, Heft 8 vom 22. Februar 1896, S. 48ff.
Türkische Eisenbahnen – III. Salonik-Dedeagadsch. In: Victor von Röll: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens. 2. Aufl. 10 Bände. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin/Wien 1912–1923, Band 9, S. 373ff (379).
thessaloniki, alexandroupoli, railway, about, long, railway, northern, greece, connecting, central, macedonian, city, thessaloniki, with, alexandroupoli, eastern, macedonia, thrace, serres, there, connection, towards, sofia, strymonas, station, this, railway, . The Thessaloniki Alexandroupoli railway is an about 440 km long railway in northern Greece connecting the Central Macedonian city of Thessaloniki with Alexandroupoli in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace via Serres There is a connection towards Sofia at the Strymonas station This railway was built in 1896 by The Compagnie du Chemin de Fer Ottoman Jonction Salonique Constantinople JSC Thessaloniki Alexandroupoli railwayThe 21 00 Athens Ormenio service at Drama 5 November 1992 OverviewStatusFully operationalOwnerGAIAOSE 1 LocaleGreece Central Macedonia East Macedonia and Thrace TerminiThessaloniki 40 38 40 N 22 55 46 E 40 6444 N 22 9294 E 40 6444 22 9294Alexandroupoli 40 50 49 N 25 53 04 E 40 8469 N 25 8844 E 40 8469 25 8844Stations45ServiceTyperailway lineServicesRegional and IntercityOperator s Hellenic TrainHistoryOpened1896 1896 TechnicalLine length440 1 km 273 5 mi 2 Number of trackssingle track 2 Track gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeElectrificationNo 2 Operating speed130 km h 81 mph highest Route mapLegendkmThessaloniki Bitola railwayto Athens and Florina0 0 Thessalonikito Skopje North Macedonia 20 9 Nea Filadelfeia28 7 Gallikos41 2 Kilkis51 3 Metalliko58 9 Chersos60 326 5 Kalindria33 6 Doirani41 0 Akrolimni47 0 Mouries52 1 Kastanoussa61 6 Rodopoli61 6 Sidirochori68 6 Livadia74 4 Mandraki78 0 Omalo84 6 Vyroneia88 3 Neo Petritsito Sofia Bulgaria 94 3 Strymonas98 9 Sidirokastro110 7 Skotoussa126 0 Serres149 1 Gazoros170 2 Lefkothea183 5 Fotolivos196 1 Drama211 3 Nikiforos222 4 Platania233 6 Paranesti247 2 Neochori256 4 Stavroupoli277 4 Toxotes291 4 Xanthi307 4 Polysitos319 4 Iasmos323 6 Polyantho338 6 Komotini354 8 Venna369 3 Mesti378 2 Sykorrachi385 9 KirkiAlexandroupoli406 30 0 Alexandroupoli DialogiAlexandroupoli Svilengrad railwayto Svilengrad Bulgaria kmThis diagram viewtalkeditAs of 2019 update there is regular passenger service twice daily to Alexandroupoli with connecting services to Dikaia as well as international services to Sofia to Belgrade via Skopje The international service to Istanbul Friendship Express as of 2023 remains suspended Contents 1 Course 2 History 3 Locomotives 4 Services 5 References 6 Further reading 7 See alsoCourse Edit nbsp JSC line profile nbsp Route map of the old Chemin de Fer Jonction Salonique Constantinople nbsp Strimon as railway station Sta8mos The line to the Bulgarian capital Sofia branches off here alas services as far as Kulata have been suspended since 2018 The western terminus of the Thessaloniki Svilengrad railway is the New Railway Station Thessaloniki It runs north passing Kilkis until it turns east at the shore of Dojran Lake It runs along the north shore of Lake Kerkini and crosses the river Strymonas near Sidirokastro The line north to Sofia border crossing Promachonas Kulata branches off here The railway continues east along Serres and Drama It crosses the river Nestos at Paranesti and follows it until Toxotes It passes Xanthi and Komotini and reaches the Aegean Sea at Alexandroupoli where it ends at the Alexandroupoli railway station which is further connected to Pythio via the Alexandroupoli Svilengrad railwayThe line is single line On the whole the route has 36 tunnels and 251 bridges 3 It follows a particularly scenic route The route first leads through a small pass where at 320 meters above sea level it reaches the highest point between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli before descending into the valley of the Nestos River The original track was built for vehicles with 13 t axle load The maximum gradients were below 20 with one section of 25 km reaching 25 the original rails had a weight of 30 kg m except in large gradients sections where the rails had a weight of 34 kg m The steel sleepers used weighed 50 kg In 2018 the superstructure of the 116 km section Thessaloniki Serres consisted of UIC 54 rails laid on B70 concrete sleepers On the remaining 326 km to Alexandroupoli rails with UIC 50 or UIC 54 profiles are laid on wooden steel or bi block concrete sleepers The route between Thessaloniki and Strymonas is now suitable for 22 5 t axle load and can be used at 160 km h The remainder of the section is for 20 tons of axle load History EditThe Societe du Chemin de Fer Ottoman Jonction Salonique Constantinople abbreviated JSC was founded in October 1892 This company obtained on September 10 1892 the concession to build and operate a railway 442 km line between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli named Dedeagatch at the time In Alexandroupoli the line would join the existing line to Constantinople and Edirne via Pythio operated by the Chemins de fer Orientaux 4 The JSC was formed according to Ottoman law with its main office in Istanbul and the shareholder committee in Paris The line fulfilled the strategic goal of a direct connection from Constantinople to Thessaloniki by passing Serbian or Bulgarian territories Thessaloniki was since 1888 connected with Constantinople by the Chemins de fer Orientaux but this connection went through the before mentioned countries which were once part of the Ottoman Empire but split off at a later stage The line was carefully built away from the border and the coast to avoid destruction by warfare citation needed Except near Alexandroupoli the minimum distance from enemy countries and the sea was 15 km in order to keep the route out of artillery and gunboat fire reach Alexandroupoli received at a later stage a bypass route in the North of the town fulfilling the original requirement This route had several horseshoe curves to master the steep grades in the geographic wise difficult country and is today closed and razed Also Thessaloniki received a Northern bypass which connected the station Kallindria with Karasuli on the line to Mitrovica Under the guidance of the Ministry of War the concessionaires were obliged to build 26 stations Some of them were military stations equipped with all the necessary facilities for the prompt embarkation and disembarkation of troops and war materials 5 Furthermore the company was obliged to own and maintain at least 848 wagons namely 90 passenger carriages of three classes 30 baggage wagons 528 boxcars 200 gondolas The boxcars and gondolas must be capable of transporting troops horses and cattle guns etc so that 27 complete trains can be organised one more train than the number of stations For the transport of soldiers 130 of the 200 gondolas should be capable of being covered as quickly as possible if required Furthermore the railway had to keep sufficient benches in the store to allow the soldiers to sit during the transport 6 In 1895 The Swiss Bank fur Orientalische Eisenbahnen purchased 30000 stocks out of 100000 issued giving it a minority shareholding 7 Bank fur Orientalische Eisenbahnen was also the owner of the Chemins de fer Orientaux and of the Salonica Monastir Railway The main objective of the Chemins de fer Orientaux was to secure an alternate route between Serbia and Istanbul through Greece should the main route through Bulgaria be closed by the Bulgarian government After the end of Balkan Wars in 1913 the line ended fully in Greek territory The Greek government purchased the JSC in 1920 8 and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways nbsp JSC in 1895Locomotives Edit nbsp JSC passenger train locomotive 101 to 111Locomotives from the JSC 9 Number Manufacturer Qty Year Type Comments Picture1 to 16 WrN SLM 16 D Became SEK class Hb50 to 54 WrN 4 C became SEK class Dg 71 to 75101 to 111 StEG 11 2 C 10 Became SEK class Zg 321 to 330Services EditThe Thessaloniki Alexandroupoli railway is used by the following passenger services Intercity and regular services Thessaloniki Alexandroupoli 10 These run twice daily 2019 service The journey time is 7 8 hours which is more than twice that by road following completion of the A2 motorway or Egnatia Odos modern road Due to the overdue necessary maintenance the line has been partially closed for passenger routes with the Drama Xanthi section operating with OSE buses and commercial trains only There are plans for Drama Toxotes to be included in the tourist itineraries 11 Due to these events the southern route through Kavala from Thessaloniki to Alexandroupoli is promoted Construction contractor for the variant is expected in late 2023 12 References Edit Home gaiaose com a b c OSE 2017 Network Statement Annexes p 5 OSE Network Statement 2017 annexes Georges Young Corps de droit Ottoman Oxford Clarendon Press 1906 See page 103 Georges Young Corps de droit Ottoman Oxford Clarendon Press 1906 See Art 28 page 106 Georges Young Corps de droit Ottoman Oxford Clarendon Press 1906 See page 109 Article 28 of Text B Le Temps 11 juin 1894 In French La Correspondance d Orient 15 aout 1920 in French JSC www pospichal net Retrieved 2018 12 03 2014 15 Intercity schedule PDF TrainOSE Retrieved 11 March 2015 Synanthsh toy Yp Ypodomwn amp Metaforwn k Kwsta Ax Karamanlh me th Dioikhsh toy OSE sto S S Serrwn Archived from the original on 2020 09 19 Retrieved 2020 09 13 SEPTEMBRIOS 2022 Afierwma ths Voria gr PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2022 09 20 Retrieved 2022 09 18 Further reading EditBasil C Gounaris Steam over Macedonia 1870 1912 Socio Economic Change and the Railway Factor East European Monographs Columbia University Press New York 1993 ISBN 0 88033 277 8 NN Les locomotives pour trains de voyageurs du chemin de fer Ottoman Jonction Salonique Constantinople In Schweizerische Bauzeitung 27 Heft 8 vom 22 Februar 1896 S 48ff Turkische Eisenbahnen III Salonik Dedeagadsch In Victor von Roll Enzyklopadie des Eisenbahnwesens 2 Aufl 10 Bande Urban amp Schwarzenberg Berlin Wien 1912 1923 Band 9 S 373ff 379 Henning Wall Eisenbahnatlas Griechenland Schweers Wall Koln 2018 ISBN 978 3 89494 148 2See also EditChemins de fer Orientaux French Hellenic Railway Company CFFH Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thessaloniki Alexandroupoli railway amp oldid 1168967426, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
