Thessaloniki–Bitola railway

Thessaloniki–Bitola railway

Overview
Status Operational up to Neos Kafkasos
Locale Greece (West Macedonia,
Central Macedonia),
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia
Termini Thessaloniki 40°38′40″N 22°55′46″E / 40.6444°N 22.9294°E / 40.6444; 22.9294Coordinates: 40°38′40″N 22°55′46″E / 40.6444°N 22.9294°E / 40.6444; 22.9294
Bitola 41°01′11″N 21°20′34″E / 41.0197°N 21.3429°E / 41.0197; 21.3429
Operation
Opened June 1894 (1894-06)
Owner OSE
Operator(s) TrainOSE
Technical
Line length 219 km (136 mi)
Number of tracks Double track Thessaloniki–Platy,
remainder single track [1]
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification only the section Thessaloniki–Platy [1]
Route map
 Line to Alexandroupoli and Sofia
0.0 Thessaloniki
to Skopje
 10.9 Sindos
from Skopje
 28.8 Adendro
 36.3 Platy
Line to Athens
38.6 Leianovergi
 44.1 Alexandreia
 49.6 Loutros
 52.0 Kefalochori
 54.8 Xechasmeni
 57.4 Kouloura
 62.5 Mesi
 67.6 Veroia
79.1 Naousa
 86.8 Episkopi
 90.1 Petraia
 95.8 Skydra
 111.7 Edessa
 119.1 Agras
 136.8 Arnissa
 152.2 Agios Panteleimonas
 159.2 Amyntaio
Line to Kozani
 164.8 Xino Nero
 178.5 Vevi
Florina
 187.5 Mesonisi
 200.4 Neos Kafkasos
 border Greece/Republic of Macedonia
 Kremenica
 219 Bitola
 to Prilep

The railway from Thessaloniki to Bitola is a 219-kilometre long railway line, that connects the port city Thessaloniki in Greece with Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia, via Veroia, Edessa, Amyntaio and Florina. The line was opened in 1894, when the area was part of the Ottoman Empire.[2] The section between the international border and Bitola is not used anymore, and as of 2013 passenger services are restricted to the section between Thessaloniki and Florina. The easternmost section of the line, Platy–Thessaloniki, is part of the important connection towards Athens and southern Greece.

History

The idea of a trans-Macedonian railway had existed since the 1850s when in January 1859 a Memorandum regarding the construction of the Salonica–Monastir (today's Bitola) line was signed.[3] It however wasn't until October 1890 that the Ottoman Sublime Porte gave Deutsche Bank a concession to build the railway as a branch line of the Oriental Railways and to possibly further extend it to an Albanian port.[4] The project headed by Baron Maurice de Hirsch started in May 1891 and was completed in June 1894. While at that time the practice of compulsory work was still in use, labor was cheap in rural Macedonia and the engineers were reported to be enthusistically welcomed.[3]

Course

The eastern terminus of the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is the New Railway Station, Thessaloniki. Leaving the Athens–Thessaloniki mainline at Platy, it runs alongside the Aliakmon River, through Alexandreia and then passes through to Veroia, Naousa, and Skydra, before climbing to Edessa and then, along the northern shore of Lake Vegoritida, reaching Amyntaio. At Amyntaio the Kozani–Amyntaio railway branches off towards Kozani, serving Ptolemaida and the power stations of the national power company ΔΕΗ. The main line continues towards the city of Florina. At Neos Kafkasos, the international border is crossed, and after 219 km the city of Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia is reached. This short international connection is now disused, with all international traffic being routed via Eidomeni and Gevgelija.

Main stations

The main stations on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway are:

Services

The Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is used by the following passenger services:

References

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.