Kozani–Amyntaio railway
A Class 621 (MAN-2000) DMU at Kozani Station
in March 2007, a few weeks after reopening the line, March 2007
Overview
StatusMothballed
OwnerGAIAOSE[1]
LocaleGreece (Central Macedonia,
East Macedonia and Thrace)
Termini
Stations12
Service
Typerailway line
ServicesRegional
Operator(s)Hellenic Train
History
Opened30 January 1955 (1955-01-30)
Closed2010 (2010)
Technical
Line length59.4 km (36.9 mi)[2]
Number of trackssingle track[2]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationNo[2]
Operating speed130 km/h (81 mph) (highest)
Route map

km
162.283
Amyntaio
172.000
Lakia
173.432
Lakia Village
174.000
km 171+381
177.246
Filotas
183.966
Pentavrysos
188.854
Ptolemaida
AEVAL
Azoton
PPC Ptolemaida
197.408
Komanos
203.383
Pontokomi
205.703
Mavrodendri
PPC Agios Dimitrios
214.512
Drepanon
221.702
Kozani

The Kozani–Amyntaio railway line is a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) (standard gauge) 59.4-kilometre (36.9 mi) long railway line of OSE connecting Kozani and Amyntaio in Greece. The line has been closed to passengers since 2010.

Course

The western terminus of the Kozani–Amyntaio railway is the Kozani. The line passes through the eastern side of Ptolemaida, the factories and mines of the Public Electricity Company and ends in the south of the city of Kozani. The line is 59.4 km (36.9 mi) long and of normal width.

Stataions

The main stations on the Kozani–Amyntaio railway are:

History

Construction of the line for the former Hellenic State Railways started in January 1951 and was completed in 1954, with the inauguration on 30 January 1955. It is a branch of the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway, which began operations in 1894. The line served the town of Ptolemaida, and connects to the lignite-fired power plants of Public Power Corporation (ΔΕΗ) at Komanos freight station. Its construction was completed in December 1954.[3] The terminal station is in the southern part of the city of Kozani.

Initially, the line was planned to be part of the Kalambaka-Grevena-Kozani railway line. In 1925, the construction of that line that would connect Kalambaka with Kozani began with awarding the contract to the Belgian company "Société commerciale de Belgique". The crash of 1929, however, led to a serious financial crisis in Greece, with the result that the Belgian company never completed it due to non-payment by the Greek government.[4] After the Second World War, it was decided to connect Kozani to the railway network through Amyntaio and the original plan for a connection with Thessaly was abandoned.[3] Industrial branch lines connect to the PPC power plants of Ptolemais and Agios Dimitrios, normally used by freight trains carrying light fuel oil. Another branch line to the former fertilizer plant of AEVAL is disused. The line is also used by freight trains carrying sugar beats from the Hellenic Sugar Industry factory to Platy.

Renovations were carried out between 2003 and 2007[5] on 22 January 2007, it was reopened with three trains daily,[6] which departed from Kozani, arriving in Thessaloniki in three hours (instead of four hours before the renovation).

From 1 August 2009, the passenger services were reduced to only one train per day[7] and the passenger services were withdrawn completely in 2010, as part of the reorganization of Trainose, and under the pretext that the line was considered unprofitable, depriving the prefecture of Kozani and the cities of Ptolemaida and Kozani of a rail connection. Indicatively, it was mentioned that the journey from Kozani to Thessaloniki took 3 hours with the IC 60/61 Pavlos Melas, while with the KTEL buses, via Egnatia Odos the journey took 1.5 hours). Infrequent freight trains still use the line to reach the PPC power-generating stations.

Service

In 2007[5] services resumed after repairs were carried out on the trackbed. In 2009 services were reduced to one train per day. In 2010, services were suspended as part of the reorganization of Trainose, and under the pretext that the line was considered unprofitable, depriving the prefecture of Kozani and the cities of Ptolemaida and Kozani of rail communication. Indicatively, it was mentioned that the journey from Kozani to Thessaloniki lasted 3 hours with the IC 60/61 Pavlos Melas, while with the KTEL buses, via Egnatia Odos it is 1.5 hours).

For the expansion of D.E.H. 's lignite mines, since January 2014, the line has been cut between the AEVAL and Pontokomi areas for a length of approximately 9-kilometre (5.6 mi). In 2019 the Special Urban Development Study of the Kozani Railway Station was approved.[8] however passenger services have yet to recommence.

See also

References

  1. "Home". gaiaose.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "OSE - 2017 Network Statement Annexes". p. 5.
  3. 1 2 "Τέλος εποχής για την ιστορική σιδηροδρομική γραμμή Αμυνταίου – Κοζάνης". kozanilife.gr (in Greek). 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  4. "Το ιστορικό της σιδηροδρομικής γραμμής από την Καλαμπάκα προς την Κοζάνη". Trikala365.gr (in Greek). 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  5. 1 2 "Επαναλειτουργεί η σιδηροδρομική γραμμή Θεσσαλονίκη-Αμύνταιο-Κοζάνη".
  6. "Rail link in western Macedonia reopened". Athens News Agency. 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  7. TrainOSE S.A. "Timetables 1 August 2009", Tables 8A/8B
  8. https://www.michanikos-online.gr/%ce%b5%ce%b3%ce%ba%cf%81%ce%af%ce%b8%ce%b7%ce%ba%ce%b5-%ce%b7-%ce%b5%ce%b9%ce%b4%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%ae-%cf%80%ce%bf%ce%bb%ce%b5%ce%bf%ce%b4%ce%bf%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%ae-%ce%bc%ce%b5%ce%bb%ce%ad%cf%84/

Further reading

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