The Hellenic Railways Organisation or OSE is the Greek national railway company which owns, maintains and operates all railway infrastructure in Greece with the exception of Athens' rapid transit lines. Train services on these lines are run by Hellenic Train S.A., a former OSE subsidiary, Rail Cargo Logistics Goldair, Pearl and Grup Feroviar Român.
Rail transport in Greece has a history which began in 1869, with the completion of the then Athens & Piraeus Railway. From the 1880s to the 1920s, the majority of the network was built, reaching its heyday in 1940. From the 1950s onward, the railway system entered a period of decline, culminating in the service cuts of 2011. Ever since the 1990s, the network has been steadily modernized, but still remains smaller than its peak length. The operation of the Greek railway network is split between the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), which owns and maintains the rail infrastructure; GAIAOSE, which owns the building infrastructure and the former OSE rolling stock, Hellenic Train; and other private companies that run the trains on the network. Greece is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Greece is 73.
Thessaly Railways was a private railway company in Greece, which owned and operated the metre gauge railway network of Thessaly and Pelion railway from 1884 to 1955, when the private company was absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways state-owned company. Today the term usually refers to the section of mainline between Domokos and Rapsani and its two branches, the West Thessaly branch to Kalambaka and the Volos branch.
Hellenic Train S.A., formerly TrainOSE S.A., is a private railway company in Greece which operates passenger and freight trains on OSE lines. Hellenic Train employs train crews, operators and manages most of the rail services throughout the Greek railway network, leasing rolling stock owned by GAIAOSE except for ETR 470 trains.
Class 5600 are a series of electric locomotives built by Siemens in association with Sorefame of Portugal for Comboios de Portugal, the state owned railway company of Portugal.
The Renfe Class 252 are a series of Bo'Bo' electric locomotives, built by CAF, Meinfesa, Siemens and Krauss-Maffei for RENFE. 15 units were built for the AVE Madrid–Seville high speed line in, and 60 units constructed for general use to Iberian gauge (1668mm).
Thessaloniki railway station, or Thessaloniki railway station is the main central passenger railway station and terminal of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. It is located in the central quarter of Xirokrini on Monastiriou Street and was inaugurated on 12 June 1961, the passenger station replaced the older and much smaller passenger station which now handles the city's cargo rail, hence the "new" sometimes used in the name.
Larissa railway station is the main station for Larissa in Thessaly, Greece. Located in a residential area, close to the city centre, it is served by InterCity trains between Athens and Thessaloniki, Express services to Kalambaka, Regional services to Volos and the southern terminus for Line 1 of Proastiakos services to Thessaloniki. Larissa railway station should not be confused with Larissa Station in Athens.
Patras railway station is a railway station in Patras in the northwestern Peloponnese, Greece. The station is located in the center of the city, beside the north port on Piraeus–Patras line and Patras–Kyparissia line and is severed by both Proastiakos Patras Services. Pending the completion of the Athens Airport–Patras railway, it is also the starting point of TrainOSE bus lines to Aigio, Diakopto and Kiato, where connecting train services to Athens Airport and Piraeus are available. Diakopto is also the terminus of the unique rack railway to Kalavryta.
Electric Multiple Units (EMU) are powered on the metro network of Athens, with five or six coaches. EMU-5s are of a former type and are limited to Line 1. On Lines 2 and 3, routes are only operated with EMU-6s. The trainsets were put into operation by STASY in 2011, with its establishment.
The OSE class 220, also known as DE2000 or Marlboro, due to the coloring of the front, reminiscent of the packaging colors of the homonymous tobacco industry, is a series of diesel-electric locomotives operated by TRAINOSE and RCLG and is part of the OSE fleet. It was built in 1998 at the ADTranz factories in Kassel, Germany, as the A.471 series, but in 2003 OSE acquired another batch. The locomotives were put into operation by OSE after the completion of their construction.
Livadeia railway station is a railway station close to Livadeia, Boeotia, Greece. The station opened on 8 March 1904., along with the rest of the line. It is served by intercity trains between Athens and Thessaloniki and by regional trains to Kalampaka.
The OSE class A.101, also known as Κruppάκι-Κruppάκια, due to its small size, only 10 meters long, is, along with the class A.201, the oldest series of locomotive operated by TRAINOSE and is part fleet of the OSE. It is a diesel-powered, built in 1962 by Krupp for SEK and was put into operation at OSE in 1971, with its foundation. It has a MTW GTO 6 diesel engine with combined power of 478 kW and reaching speeds of up to 70 km / h in freight and local trains, and 30 in shunting operations.
The OSE Class 460 is the only line of electric trainsets (EMU) in Greece and, together with the 621 class, it is the second most recent series of railcars operated by TRAINOSE after the 3107 class. They are OSE rolling stock and belong to the Desiro Classic generation, while they were manufactured by Siemens in 2006. They come in line with the 660 class but their main difference is that the 460 is electric-powered with five coaches while the 660 is diesel-powered by two coaches but they have the same manufacturers and gauge.
The TRAINOSE Class 520, also known as the AEG DE IC-2000N, is the oldest class of trainsets operated by TRAINOSE. They are diesel-powered, they can be DMU-5 or DMU-4 and were built in 1989 and 1995 as class 601 and 651, respectively, from the cooperation of West Germany's AEG and East Germany's LEW, and for about two decades they were the spearhead of the fast- interurban quality trains (InterCity). Sometimes, DMU-4 units circulate coupled with another truck. In total, there are 20 such trainsets, 12 DMU-4 and 8 DMU-5.
Komotini railway station is a railway station that servers the city of Komotini, in Rhodope in East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. The station is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southeast of the city centre but within city limits. The station is staffed, but only at peak times, but has waiting rooms and a bus stop in the forecourt.
OSE class A.551 was a class of diesel locomotives, which were used to be a part of Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE)'s rolling stock. It was built in 1982 by Electroputere in Craiova, Romania, by OSE's order. It was usually coupled with a heating coach, for the train's heating needs. In total, 10 units were produced, numbered A.551 to A.560, which had an Alco 251R/V16 engine, with a 2,911-kilowatt power output, and were capable to reach speeds up to 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph).
In Greece, there are two similar classes of Stadler GTW trainsets, namely the 560 and the 4500, which are operated by TRAINOSE and are part of OSE rolling stock. These are suburban DMUs with two coaches, of type G.T.W. 2/6, which were built by a consortium of Stadler, Bombardier and Hellenic Shipyards and were put into operation by OSE, between 2003 and 2004. The trainsets are either standard or metre gauge, but with the same technical characteristics. They can be coupled in multiple coupling with up to three railcars.
The Thessaloniki–Skopje railway is an 240-kilometre-long (150 mi) transnational railway line that connects the port city Thessaloniki in Greece with Skopje in the North Macedonia. An important railway line in Northern Greece, Used for long-distance passenger and commercial traffic, Its importance justifies the fact that it is part of the main Greek railway trunk PATHE (Patra-Athens-Thessaloniki-Eidomeni) and its inclusion in development projects such as that of the Axios river variant. Its southern terminus is Thessaloniki, where there are connections to Athens and Alexandroupoli.
Rodopoli railway station is a railway station that serves the community of Rodopoli, in Serres in East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. The station is located close to the town center and within the settlement limits. The station building is unstaffed.
