Athens to Patras railway rebuilding progress

[Ian99]

Has anyone seen any information about the rebuilding of the Athens to Patras line. Previously it only went to Kieto (from Athens) but from the link below it suggests that one can at least get to Diakofto:

Δρομολόγια HELLENIC TRAIN

tickets.trainose.gr

 

[jfollows]

No information, but I'm thinking of going Patras-Athens in 2021, so I'm interested in any news. Currently the journey requires a bus for part of the way, doesn't it? I'm thinking of going overland to Rhodes next summer via Paris and Venice, by the way - my sister and her family live in Rhodes and I missed my annual holiday there with them this year, so I thought I'd do something other than Jet2 to get there next year if possible.

 

[Sprinter150]

Yes, the railway line was indeed extended from Kiato to Aigio, and opened this summer for passengers. It is unelectrified though, so on some trains a transfer is required at Kiato if continuing to Athens. Modern Railways nicely sums up the opening (August 2020, pg 88), although if you don't have that, here's IRJ's take on it. https://www.railjournal.com/infrast...line-in-greece-opens-following-safety-checks/

This (http://www.trainose.gr/wp-content/u...ΙΑΤΟ-ΑΘΗΝΑ-ΑΕΡΟΔΡΟΜΙΟ_22.06.2020_ΕΠΙΒΑΤΕΣ.pdf) is the timetable for the new line, although some buses are still operating to Kiato for connections, from Patras (http://www.trainose.gr/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ΠΑΤΡΑ-ΚΙΑΤΟ-ΠΑΤΡΑ_20-07-2020_ΕΠΙΒΑΤΕΣ-1.pdf). As you can see, trains are operating less frequently than the existing Kiato-Athens line (http://www.trainose.gr/wp-content/u...ΘΗΝΑ-ΠΕΙΡΑΙΑΣ-ΓΙΑ-ΕΠΙΒΑΤΕΣ_04.05.2020_web.pdf) which is hourly.

 

[Ian99]

Thanks Sprinter150.

 

[Sprinter150]

Thanks Sprinter150.

No problem. Hope this helps, and yes, does still require a bus ride; it actually looks like it might still be quicker on the bus if you changed modes at Kiato, but that's not got quite the same appeal as rail. I think the extensions are being done in a piecemeal fashion, and I've not seen anything in the railway media about further extension to Patras progressing just yet, but certainly in a few years time there may be.

 

[jfollows]

Likewise, thank you Sprinter150
I am in the early planning stages of next year's trip, and your information is very helpful.

 

[Sprinter150]

Likewise, thank you Sprinter150
I am in the early planning stages of next year's trip, and your information is very helpful.

Again, it's really no problem. I wish you the best of luck in having a pleasant trip in 2021 - hopefully it will be a bit simpler to plan for then than now!

Just for a bit more detail about the project, I have found this article from RGI (in depth, focuses on the whole of Greece rail infrastructure investment, but the first part is relevant to the Peloponnese). https://www.railwaygazette.com/in-d...e-investment-back-on-the-agenda/57050.article

"After years of delays amid the country’s financial crisis, several major infrastructure projects are coming to fruition in Greece, while Chinese investment in the port of Piraeus could spur more investment in the near future. Toma Bačić reports.
June 26 marked a further milestone in the long struggle to revive the Greek railway network, with the launch of diesel-hauled passenger trains over the 71 km between Kiato and Rododaphni on the route linking Athens with Patras in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula.
This can be seen as a cause for optimism, as despite some ambitious plans rail infrastructure investment in Greece had suffered along with the rest of the economy in the wake of the country’s financial crisis during the late 2000s.
The Peloponnese was once served by an extensive narrow gauge network, parts of which were operational as recently as 2010. The government has committed to maintaining the mothballed infrastructure, but it seems unlikely that many of the more rural metre gauge lines will be revived. However, the former metre gauge line from the capital to Patras is being rebuilt as a 1 435 mm gauge double-track electrified main line, with some sections suitable for 200 km/h operation.
The first phase of this project opened in two stages in 2005-07, when 105 route-km of essentially new line replaced the old narrow gauge route, running from a junction at SKA north of Athens to Korinthos and Kiato. The budget was €620m, which covered the excavation of five tunnels totalling 8·3km and four cut-and-cover sections adding a further 1·4 km. The line was electrified at a cost of €27·3m.
The newly finished Kiato – Rododaphni section has necessitated even more tunnelling, pushing the cost up to €920m. Six bores total 11 route-km, augmented by eight emergency access tunnels and 13 more sections of cut-and-cover.
Test running started on April 17, with Christos Spirtzis, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport & Networks, joining the first trip. Thales has supplied Altrac ETCS Level 1 train control equipment as well as power systems, hot axlebox detectors, and cabling under a contract awarded by infrastructure manager Ergose in 2014. Thales is also responsible for the installation and commissioning of telecoms systems. Although not yet completed, electrification is planned within a budget of €69m.
This leaves the reconstruction of the last 32 km to Patras outstanding, with the cost now estimated at a further €91m. Eight new stations are planned to serve the rebuilt corridor. Work on the final section is expected to begin next year."

 

[jfollows]

Modern Railways nicely sums up the opening (August 2020, pg 88), although if you don't have that, here's IRJ's take on it. https://www.railjournal.com/infrast...line-in-greece-opens-following-safety-checks/

Thank you again; here's the Modern Railways article:

NEW LINE EXTENDED ON PELOPONNESE



The new standard gauge line from Kiato to Aigio on the north coast of the Peloponnese peninsular (sic) opened on 22 June with six train pairs operated by Trainose DMUs. The new line, approximately 68km long, has been built for future 200km/h electric operation but has not yet been electrified. It has opened at least two years after the original plan, with the coronavirus pandemic compounding earlier delay. As the line from Athens to Kiato (which has been open as standard gauge since 2007) has been electrified at 25kV AC, services to and from Athens / Athens Airport are operated using EMUs, which means passengers have to change trains in Kiato.



The 72km double track section between Kiato and Rododafni, most of which is now open, includes 14 tunnels and four intermediate stations. The new station at Aigio, some distance outside the town, has been built on a massive scale with seven tracks, five serving platforms! The new line has been equipped with ETCS Level 1 and telecoms systems by Thales. The budget for the Kiato - Rododafni section was €273 million, €69 million of which is assigned to future electrification.



The line will be extended another 30km fram Rododafni to Patras, although exact timescales are unclear, as are those for electrification of the new line; some local reports suggest this will all be undertaken in the next two years. In the meantime, Trainose is running replacement buses from Patras which, despite the new railway opening, operate all the way to the 25kV line at Kiato.



The new line replaces the former metre-gauge line that connected Athens with Patras as part of a network that served much of the Peloponnese peninsula. This line has been lifted along the northern coast and in places, such as in the town of Diakopto, the new line uses the old alignment, although elsewhere much of the new line is built on new alignments further inland from the old one. In Diakopto connections can be made to Greece’s only rack-operated railway to Kalavrita.



The former Peloponnese metre-gauge network was completely shut by former state operator OSE in late 2010 as part of severe cuts caused by the financial crisis which hit Greece very hard; the section from Athens to Corinth had already been shut in 2005 when the standard gauge line opened, replacing it. Small sections of the network have been resurrected, with local services operated on a 10km section in Patras using relatively modern Stadler-built GTW DMUs; local politicians have called for more of the former network to reopen.

All good for my 2021 plans.

My sister moved to Rhodes with her husband and two children in 2013; I had a stroke later in 2013 so it wasn't until 2015 that I got to visit her but I've been to Rhodes since every year 2015-2019. I had flights booked for (Greek) Easter April 2020 but obviously that didn't happen. So I'm thinking of going overland in 2021, staying in Paris (lost count of the number of times I've been there), then Venice (3-4 previous visits), then ferry to Patras, so bus/train to Athens (never been) followed by Piraeus and boat to Rhodes. I'll probably then spend a week in Rhodes before flying back to Manchester.

 

[cyclebike]

I've just got back from a cycle trip in Greece, part of which I headed along the North coast of the Peloponnese. Heading towards Patra, I can confirm that the rails were still mostly in place, but very overgrown and clearly long out of use. No sign of any ongoing works towards Patra

 

[MarcVD]

It is said that the section of line that remains to be rebuilt will be more difficult, because Patras local authorities require the urban part of this section to be put underground.

 

[Ian99]

Seems a pity that it can't follow the existing line to Rio.

 

[rf_ioliver]

Good news. I was fortunate to travel from Athens to Patras in the early 2000s. By the time we reached Corinth it was already dark so not much of a view. Had to take a bus back from Patras - very interesting ride, especially with the views almost literally down the side of a cliff from the motorway; the railway seemed even more precarious when we got views of it.

 

[Bungle158]

In the 80s, l travelled the.entire metre gauge network from the deicated station in Athens. I recall 1930s vintage German railcars and loco hauled stock, possibly from the then East Germany. Very slow, very scenic. Either a run down into Kalamata and change, or an interminable wait at Zevgolatio Junction. Kiparissia on the west coast was also a terminus which required reversal.

Tiny stations, but often with a buffet, friendly staff and a unique atmosphere. Fares cheaper than parallel bus services and a timetable deserving of the Booker Prize for fiction. Great days indeed.

 

[davetheguard]

Either a run down into Kalamata and change, or an interminable wait at Zevgolatio Junction. Kiparissia on the west coast was also a terminus which required reversal.

The three stations you mention are seen here in October 2014 AFTER the lines had been mothballed & regular services withdrawn. Illustrated are special trains hired as part of a rail holiday by British company PTG Tours.

 

[Ian99]

Wow - as recently as 2014 - do you know how far it went from Kalamata?

 

[davetheguard]

Wow - as recently as 2014 - do you know how far it went from Kalamata?

It was not possible to use the line from Corinth to the outskirts of Patras as it was closed for conversion to standard gauge as noted by the OP. We did this section by road. We were able to take a trip on the rack railway from Diakopton up to Kalavrita & back before getting back on the bus. However, once in Patras itself, we caught a narrow gauge evening suburban service train in to the city centre. The special train part of the tour started the next day in Patras & then over the next week, running in an anti-clockwise direction, we covered the entire Peloponnese network including branches, ending up in Corinth. We then returned to Athens by standard gauge EMU.

 

[Bungle158]

The three stations you mention are seen here in October 2014 AFTER the lines had been mothballed & regular services withdrawn. Illustrated are special trains hired as part of a rail holiday by British company PTG Tours.

Great pics. Thanks for posting. Sic transit etc.

 

[Ian99]

https://ypodomes.com/updated-plans-...-connection-projects-to-be-presented-in-july/ details some of the early plans for Patras.

 

[Ian99]

Does anyone have any thoughts on if the timetables have changed in light of the new lockdown in Greece. I had planned to go to Aigio on Friday to take the train to Athens Airport to fly to London but am wondering if it's actually running...

I can see the timetable here but there's also a document saying that the ticket office is currently not operating and I can't find a way of buying a ticket online....

UPDATE: having visited Aigio station today I am told that there are no trains coming there (Oxi treno) due to Covid. The man at Kiato however tells me that the trains are running from there into Athens.

 

[Bungle158]

The trainose site has English language times, showing services Kiato Athens. There is a connection with airport services via Ano Liossia in normal times. However, with lockdown this is not guaranteed and l can't find accurate info, even on Greek language pages.

 

[Railway World]

My account of the October 2014 PTG return train from Corinth to Patras:

A metre gauge adventure in Greece

My interest in the extensive metre-gauge network around the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece had been aroused during a summer-time visit in 1979, when I had travelled a few sections of the remarkabl…

railwayworld.net

 

[the sniper]

My account of the October 2014 PTG return train from Corinth to Patras:

A metre gauge adventure in Greece

My interest in the extensive metre-gauge network around the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece had been aroused during a summer-time visit in 1979, when I had travelled a few sections of the remarkabl…

railwayworld.net

I read that off the back of this thread a few months ago. I enjoyed reading of some of your other adventures too!

 

[GriffinWarrior]

Many thanks to all who have contributed information here. I used to live in Patras and I know the Peloponnese well. I thought that you might like to see these photos which I took five years ago at the old station of Myloi which is near Nafplion in the north-east of the Peloponnese.