Proastiakos Athens

The Athens Suburban Railway, also known as Proastiakos Athens (Greek: Προαστιακός Αθήνας) is a commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, such as the areas of Boeotia, Euboea and Corinthia.

Athens Suburban Railway (Proastiakos)
Siemens Desiro near Nerantziotissa station, towards Athens Airport.
Overview
LocaleAttica, parts of Central Greece and Peloponnese
Transit typeCommuter rail
Number of lines4
Number of stations45
WebsiteTrainOSE (operator)
Operation
Began operation30 July 2004 (2004-07-30)
Operator(s)TrainOSE
Number of vehicles20 Siemens Desiro 460
Technical
System length230.9 km (143.5 mi)
Track gauge
  • 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification25k V AC overhead lines
Top speed160 km/h (99 mph)

The first Proastiakos train linked Athens Railway Station with Athens International Airport, on time for the 2004 Summer Olympics that were held in Athens. As years went by, the network was expanded to Corinth, Kiato, and since there have been added itineraries towards the cities of Chalcis and Thebes, as well.

Lines and services

Proastiakos of Athens consists of four routes: one from Piraeus to the Airport, one from Athens International Airport to Kiato, one from Athens Cental station to Chalcis and one from Ano Liosia to the Airport.[1] Trains run from approximately 5:00am to midnight daily.[2][3] There are 45 stations in total.

Main services

The following table lists the routes and the stations for the Proastiakos network of Athens:[4]

Proastiakos routes
Route Route Stations Length (km)
1 Piraeus - Airport 19 48.2
2 Piraeus - Kiato 20 122
3 Athens - Chalcis 19 82.7
4 Ano Liosia - Airport 12 33.2
5 Kiato - Aigio 9 65.3
6 Airport - Kiato 11 134.6

Stations

The suburban railway connects with the other urban railways of Athens in the following stations:

Future expansion

Extension from Kiato to Aigio

As part of the P.A.Th.E./P. project, the Athens Airport-Kiato line is being extended to eventually reach Patras. In August 2019, Proastiakos services currently terminating at Kiato were to be extended to Aigio;[5] this has now been deferred to June 2020.

Lavrio branch line

In 2016 a nine station, 32 km extension of the Proastiakos network from Koropi station to Lavrio was announced, at a cost of €350 million, connecting 300,000 more people to the rail network.[6] New stations will be built at Markopoulo Mesogaias, Kalyvia Thorikou, Kouvaras, Keratea, Daskalio 1, Daskalio 2, Thoriko, Kyprianos Lavrio and Lavrio Port.

Loutraki line reopening

In February 2019, Hellenic Railways Organisation accepted a bid for the €12 million project to regauge the former metre gauge line from Isthmos to Loutraki to standard gauge, connect it to the Athens Airport-Patras railway and reopen it to passenger traffic by 2021.[7] [8] Mytilineos-Xanthakis was selected as the contractor of the project. Due to an appeal from the contractor AKTOR, the signing of the contract was delayed. The signing of contract happened on June 4, 2019.[9] The project is expected to revitalize Loutraki's essential role in the tourism sector and help improve the city’s financial stability. The Proastiakos is expected to reach Loutraki by 2021. The project consists of the electrification of the tracks Isthmus-Loutraki and building two stops—one at the casino and the other in Loutraki. According to a local news outlet, the works of this project are expected to start on July 29, 2019.

Rafina branch

Talks are set to begin with the European Union in 2019 to build a branch line from Doukissis Plakentias station to the town of Rafina.[10] [11]

Notes

    References
    1. https://www.athenstransport.com/info/proastiakos/
    2. "Urban Rail Transport S.A.: First & Last Train Departures". Urban Rail Transport S.A. (STASY). Retrieved 2013-07-25.
    3. "Urban Rail Transport S.A.: Detailed TRAM Timetables". Urban Rail Transport S.A. (STASY). Retrieved 2013-07-25.
    4. Athens Suburban Railway, TrainOSE, accessed 23 June 2020.
    5. "More Suburban Railway Stops Added to Peloponnese Line". GTP News. 18 April 2019.
    6. "Suburban Train to Pull in to Lavrio Port by 2019". GTP. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
    7. "Loutraki - ERGOSE". ERGOSE. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
    8. "Isthmos - Loutraki railway line upgrade project on its way to the Court of Audit". Ypodomes. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
    9. "Loutraki Proastiakos Contract Signing".
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