Pythio railway station

The station lies on the line, built by the Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO), from Istanbul to Vienna. The railway reached Pythio, known as Kuleliburgaz during Ottoman rule,[5] in 1873, when the line from Istanbul to Edirne and Bulgaria was opened.[6] A 112 km branch from Pythio to Alexandroupoli (then known as Dedeağaç) was opened in 1874.

When the railway was built it was all within the Ottoman Empire. During World War I the railway was an important link as the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary were all Central Allies. On 14 December 1916 Allied aeroplanes bombed the bridge over the river Evros near Pythio (Kuleliburgaz).[7] Under the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, a new border between Greece and Turkey was established at the Evros river, just east of Pythio, which had the result that the railway from Istanbul to Bulgaria entered Greece at Pythio, then re-entered Turkey at Edirne (Karaağaç railway station), re-entered Greece at Marasia, and finally entered Bulgaria between Ormenio and Svilengrad. This arrangement continued until 1971, when two new lines were opened. In Turkey the Edirne Cut-off was opened to allow trains from Istanbul to Bulgaria to run through Edirne entirely on Turkish territory, so that trains such as the Orient Express no longer had to stop at Pythio. In Greece a line was opened to allow trains from Pythio to Bulgaria to stay on Greek territory and avoid Edirne.

The station buildings are a beautiful example of late 19th century railway architecture, but rundown and almost abandoned.[8] Inside the waiting rooms are barely usable and the station is unstaffed.

Pythio is the first European Union railway station for trains coming from Turkey and carrying passengers from the East.[9] As of 2020, the station is only served by two daily pairs of regional trains Alexandroupoli–Ormenio.[10]

Between July 2005 and February 2011 the Friendship Express (an international InterCity train jointly operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and TrainOSE S.A. linking Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal, Turkey and Thessaloniki, Greece) passed through Pythio, with trains changing locomotives and crew at the station.