Trams in Athens

Last updated
Trams in Athens
Operation
Locale Athens, Greece
StatusClosed (first generation)
Operational (modern system)
Horsecar era: 1882 (1882)–1908 (1908)
StatusConverted to electricity
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Propulsion system(s)Horses
Steam engine era: 1887 (1887)–1908 (1908)
StatusConverted to electricity
Lines 1
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Propulsion system(s) Steam engine
Electric tram era: 1908 (1908)–1960 (1960)
StatusClosed
Lines 21
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Propulsion system(s)Electric
Depot(s)Aghia Triada Keramikou

Trams in Athens have existed in two separate generations, the first from 1882 to 1960, and the second since 2004. There were no trams at all in Athens between 1960 and 2004, though the separate Piraeus-Perama light railway remained in operation between nearby Perama and Piraeus until 1977.

Contents

Athens' first-generation metre gauge tram network began operation as a horse tram system, before being converted to electric trams in the early twentieth century. The original Athens tram network completely closed by 1960.

Trams returned in 2004 with the opening of a standard gauge modern tram network in Athens just prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics.

History

Horse trams

Trams made their first appearance on the streets of Athens in 1882. [1] As with the first tram systems in most cities, these were horsecars pulled by three horses. The tram system ran on metre gauge rails. The first 16 tram vehicles [2] were lightweight vehicles, using covered tops for the winter and providing 16 seats, and using open tops for the summer which provided 20 seats. The 800 horses that were used for the early tram network were from Asia Minor, and their relatively small size were appropriate for the sloping streets of Athens and the tramway's continuous stops. [1]

The first tramlines connected the center of Athens with the suburbs (as they were at that time) such as Patissia, Ampelokipi and Kolokinthou. Other lines connected Omonoia Square with Syntagma, Gkazi, Keramiko Dipilo. By 1902, tramlines served Ippokratous, Mitropoleos and Acharnon streets as well. [1]

Steam tram

The steam-powered tram of Faliro started its operation in 1887. Having its starting point in front of the Academy of Athens it traversed Panepistimiou street, Amalias and Thisseos avenues, traveling to Tzitzifies and from there along the coastal road to end up at Faliro, which at that time was the location of seaside resorts and sea baths. [1] This line was converted to electricity when the rest of the tram network was.

Electrified trams

Trams in Athens in the 1950s at Omonoia Square. Omonia Square, Athens, Greece 1950s.jpg
Trams in Athens in the 1950s at Omonoia Square.
A tram passing in front of the Hadrian's Gate, sometime in the early 1950s. Hadrian's Gate, Athens, Greece, early 1950s.jpg
A tram passing in front of the Hadrian's Gate, sometime in the early 1950s.

On 30 October 1908, the operation of the first metre gauge electric tramways began in Athens, which would gradually replace the horsecar trams. [1] In the two years that followed, the tram network acquired 257 vehicles – 150 of them were motored while the other 107 were trailers – along with the previous tramcars, which were reused as trailers. These new tram vehicles for use on Athens' electric tramways were built in Belgium and had a beige livery; they were closed-top, had electric lighting, and comfortable seats with a prediction of 16 seats for sitting patrons and 14 places for standing patrons. The motorized trams had two motors which were ideal for the lines on the slopes of Athens. At that time, the cost of the trip was just one penny. [1]

With electrification, the tram system expanded until the network consisted of 21 lines.

In 1939, a large number of the Belgian-built tramcars that had been in operation on the Athens tramway since its electrification were sold, while the remaining tram vehicles in use were renovated and their livery was changed to dark green. In the following year, Athens received 60 large, modern tram vehicles which were included in a supplementary contract that had been signed by the Greek government in 1937. The new vehicles were constructed by the Italian consortium ΟΜ/CGE/Breda of Milan, and had a yellow livery, and the same aerodynamic design as the tram model used on the tramways of Milan. [1]

Decline of Athens tramway

On 28 October 1940, the tramways of Athens participated in recruitment for the war. After the Occupation started, the decline of Athens' tramway began, as some tramlines were abolished. However, the real decline of the network took place when the crews of Ministry of Public Works dramatically dismantled the tracks at the Haftia node during the first morning hours of 16 November 1953, resulting in the decommissioning of the lines Patisia–Ampelokipi and Kipseli–Pagrati. [1]

The last jingle from a bell of an Athens tram was heard outside of the depot at Aghia Triada Keramikou, at midnight of 15/16 October 1960. Trams, green or yellow, which during their 52 years of operation had transported around 3 billion passengers, would not travel again on the streets of Athens. [1]

Piraeus-Perama light railway

However, one tram-like railway, the standard gauge Piraeus-Perama light railway, remained in operation. However, on the afternoon of Holy Monday, 4 April 1977, the Piraeus-Perama light railway, decorated with flowers and banners, began its last run from Perama to Piraeus and completed its final journey. The driver Yannis Kostopoulos rang the bell for the last time and directed Vehicle 77 to the depot of street Kononos. [1] At that moment, the epilogue was written for the first generation of Greek tram and light railways.

Modern Athens Tram

In 2004, 44 years after the last tram operated in Athens proper, trams returned to the streets of the capital, in the form of modern and technologically advanced tram vehicles running on a standard gauge rail network. Operation of the modern Athens Tram system began on 19 July 2004, [1] just a month before the 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles</span> Aims to preserve historic rail vehicles

Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens Mass Transit System</span> Public transit network in Greece

The Athens Mass Transit System is the largest mass transit system of Greece. The system is run by the OASA S.A. organisation and serves Athens Urban Area and the Athens Metropolitan Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsecar</span> Animal-powered tram or streetcar

A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered tram or streetcar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenic Railways Organisation</span> Greek railway infrastructure company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens–Piraeus Electric Railways</span>

The Athens–Piraeus Electric Railways, commonly abbreviated as ISAP, was a company which operated the Piraeus - Kifissia line from 1 January 1976 to 17 June 2011. Piraeus - Kifissia line was the oldest urban rapid transit system of Athens metropolitan area. The line opened in 1869 as a suburban railway line connecting Athens with its port of Piraeus and it was gradually converted to full rapid transit operations, making it one of the oldest metro lines in the world. The line which Isap S.A. operated evolved from the older Athens & Piraeus Railway and Lavrion Square-Strofyli railway.

Hellenic State Railways or SEK was a Greek public sector entity which was established in 1920 and operated most Greek railway lines until 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavrion Square–Strofyli railway</span>

The Lavrion Square–Strofyli railway was a Greek 1,000 mm railway line that ran from Lavrion Square in downtown Athens to the suburb of Kifissia and further on to Strofyli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Museum of Athens</span>

The Railway Museum of Athens, Greece, was founded by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Greece</span> Rail transport in Greece

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.

Early development of railway transport in Greece involved a number of different companies, which had created their own workshops for maintenance and constructions. The most important were Railway Works in Piraeus, originally operated by Athens-Piraeus Railways, and Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways, which, in addition to maintenance, repair and rebuilding, have entirely constructed a significant number of railroad cars, mostly between 1880 and 1960. Other noteworthy constructions included a small number of electric trams built by EIS in 1939, and one of Greece's first Diesel locomotives, designed and built by SPAP in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways</span>

Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP was a Greek railway company founded in 1882, which owned and operated the 1,000 mm Piraeus–Patras railway line connecting Piraeus and Athens to Peloponnese. The company was nationalized in 1954 and absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens–Lavrion Railway</span>

Athens–Lavrion Railway was a 1,000 mmmetre gauge railway line connecting downtown Athens with Eastern Attica and the mining town of Lavrion in Greece.

The Piraeus-Perama light railway was a standard gauge suburban light railway line in Greece which connected Piraeus with Perama and Salamis Naval Base. The line was owned by the Hellenic Electric Railways and operated from 1936 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens Tram</span> Public tram network in Athens

The Athens Tram is the modern public tram network system serving Athens, Greece. The system is owned and operated by STASY, which replaced Tram S.A. in June 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek industrial railways</span>

A number of private industrial railway lines were constructed in Greece for exclusive use by major mining operations and by extensive industrial facilities. There were also a few temporary lines, used for the construction of major public works. Most of them were either metre gauge or 600 mm narrow gauge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Rotterdam</span>

The Rotterdam tramway network is a key element of the overall public transport arrangements in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wigan Corporation Tramways</span>

Wigan Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Wigan, England, between 1901 and 1931. The first tramway service in the town was run by the Wigan Tramways Company, whose horse trams began carrying passengers in 1880. They began replacing horses with steam tram locomotives from 1882, but the company failed in 1890 when a Receiver was appointed to manage it. The Wigan & District Tramways Company took over the system in 1893 and ran it until 1902. Meanwhile, Wigan Corporation were planning their own tramway system, obtaining an authorising Act of Parliament in 1893, and a second one in 1898. This enabled them to build electric tramways, and in 1902, they took over the lines of the Wigan & District Tramways Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Bonn</span> Overview of trams in Bonn

The Bonn tramway network forms part of the public transport system in the city Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, along with the Bonn Stadtbahn with which the tramlines are heavily integrated. The tram network consists of three tram lines which makes Bonn's tramway relatively small, as it comprises only 29.52 kilometres (18.34 mi) of route. The tramway is operated by 24 low-floor tramcars.

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 at STASY in 2011, with its establishment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rouf railway station</span>

Rouf railway station is a station on the Piraeus–Platy railway line in Rouf, a neighbourhood of Athens Central Athens, located on the borders of the municipalities of Athens and Tavros. Originally opened on 30 June 1884 it was rebuilt to serve Athens Suburban Railway lines when this section came into operation in June 2007. It owes its name to the area of Rouf, named after a Bavarian businessman who once owned the land in the 19th Century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Tramway Historical Data". Urban Rail Transport S.A. (STASY). 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Athens Tram". Athens Info Guide. Retrieved 2014-07-05.

Further reading

  • Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι 1869-1969 (Hellenic Electric Railways 1869-1969) (in Greek) (2nd ed.). Athens, Greece: Hellenic Electric Railways. 2005 [1970]. ISBN   960-86477-1-1.
  • I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. (1997). Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways) (in Greek). Μίλητος (Militos). ISBN   960-8460-07-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Trams in Athens at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.