Athens railway station

Athens railway station
Larissa Station
View of the station building
Location Domokou Avenue, Kolonos
Athens, Greece
Coordinates 37°59′32.24″N 23°43′14″E / 37.9922889°N 23.72056°E / 37.9922889; 23.72056Coordinates: 37°59′32.24″N 23°43′14″E / 37.9922889°N 23.72056°E / 37.9922889; 23.72056
Owned by OSE
Line(s) Piraeus–Platy railway
Platforms 9
Tracks 15
Connections
Construction
Parking yes
History
Opened 8 March 1904
Services
Preceding station   Athens Metro   Following station
towards Anthoupoli
Line 2
towards Elliniko
Preceding station   Proastiakos   Following station
Rouf
towards Piraeus
Piraeus – Airport
Agioi Anargyroi
towards Airport
Piraeus – Kiato
Agioi Anargyroi
towards Kiato
TerminusAthens - Chalcis
Agioi Anargyroi
towards Chalcis
Preceding station   TrainOSE   Following station
TerminusIntercity
toward Thessaloniki

Athens railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός Αθηνών, translit. Sidirodromikós Stathmós Athinón) is the main railway station of Athens, the capital city of Greece. It is located in the central quarter of Kolonos. It resulted from the merger of the city's two main railway terminals, the Larissa Station (Greek: Σταθμός Λαρίσσης) of the Piraeus–Platy railway line towards central and northern Greece, and of the Peloponnese Station (Greek: Σταθμός Πελοποννήσου, Stathmós Peloponnísou) of the Piraeus–Patras railway line linking Athens with the southern Peloponnese peninsula. The station is still colloquially known as "Larissa Station", which is also the name of a Metro station there.

History

Inaugurated on 29 June 1904, the station was named after the city of Larissa, as the southern terminal of the line to the Thessalian city and Thessaloniki. The older adjacent station, Stathmós Peloponnísou (Σταθμός Πελοποννήσου, 37°59′22.6″N 23°43′9.52″E / 37.989611°N 23.7193111°E / 37.989611; 23.7193111), was inaugurated on 30 June 1884, named after the Peloponnese peninsula due to its services to the region. Closed on 7 August 2005, along with the Piraeus-Agioi Anargyroi line, its activities since then moved to the Stathmos Larissis.[1] Regarding the metro station, part of the Line 2, it is an underground stop inaugurated on 28 January 2000. On 4 June 2017 the last service departed the un-modernized section of the Athens railway station, having been closed for modernization that took over the Peloponese railway station.

Structure

Larissa Station has a large two-floors building, in front of a square Domokou avenue, in which there are some platforms for bus services. It counts 2 platforms and 3 tracks but, starting from the first 2000s, it is under reconstruction for modernization and enlargement: the station will be improved with 12 tracks and 7 platforms and the line electrified.[2] Construction of the new platforms and tracks, located where it was the goods yard of Peloponnese station, is almost complete.

Traffic

The station is served by Athens Metro and by the "Proastiakos" (a service of TrainOSE) suburban line Piraeus-Ano Liosia; that links it, though not directly, to the International Airport Elefthérios Venizélos.

Several regional trains serve Attica and some InterCity trains, mainly to Patras and Thessaloniki (Neós Stathmós). During the twentieth century, especially in the first half, Athens station was the terminus for some international trains, such as an Express to Berlin (departing from the former Anhalter Bahnhof) or the "Arlberg"[3] route of the Orient Express (London-Athens via Paris-Zürich-Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje), in service until 1962 and then of the Direct Orient Express (Paris-Lausanne-Venice-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Belgrade-Skopje) until 1976.[4]

Future

Being under construction since 2005 and having faced lots of delays, the station's expansion promises to significantly increase its capacity and increase the number of platforms.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Athens Guide: Trains in Greece". www.athensguide.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Railway map of Greece, showing also lines under electrification works". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. ↑ See map on Commons
  4. ↑ "Darstaed TP - gauge '0' tin plate trains - Your stop for a ride through the past". www.darstaed.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

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