page_title: Thessaly Railways
section_title: The Thessaly network after 1955
hierarchical_section_title: Thessaly Railways / The Thessaly network after 1955
caption_attribution_description: English: Hellenic Railways Organization: MAN/Hellenic Shipyards Class 620 DMU2 at Kalampaka Station.Ελληνικά: Αυτοκινητάμαξα MAN κλάσης 620 του ΟΣΕ στο Σ.Σ. Καλαμπάκας. Deutsch: Bf Kalambáka, MAN-Dieseltriebzug der Reihe 620. Zum Aufnahmezeitpunkt besteht noch echter Regionalverkehr. Die MAN-Doppeltriebwagen verkehrten hier auch schon zu Zeiten des Meterspurbetriebes, nur eben in einer etwas kleineren Ausführung.
context_page_description: Thessaly Railways was a railway company in Greece, which owned and operated the metre gauge railway network of Thessaly and Pelion railway from 1884 to 1955, when the company was absorbed by the Hellenic State Railways. Today the term usually refers to the section of mainline between Domokos and Rapsani and its two branches, the West Thessaly branch to Kalambaka and the Volos branch.
context_section_description: The Hellenic State Railways (OSE) absorbed Thessaly Railways in 1955.
  In 1960 the line from Larissa to Volos was converted to standard gauge and was connected at Larissa with the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki. For the section between Latomeio and Volos the standard gauge line follows a different route with an additional halt at Melissiatika. The standard gauge line is physically connected to the Athens-Thessaloniki mainline, allowing OSE to run through services to Volos from Athens and Thessaloniki. Volos station was converted to dual gauge, in order to accommodate trains of the two branches. Parts of the station and the track towards the city centre were at this period of a unique triple-gauge system: standard gauge for Larissa trains, metre gauge for Kalambaka trains and 600 mm gauge for Pelion trains.
  In 1970 the network was taken over by the new Hellenic Railways Organisation, successor of the Hellenic State Railways.
  In 2001 the section between Palaiofarsalos and Kalampaka was converted to standard gauge and physically connected at Palaiofarsalos with the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki. Volos station was converted to exclusively standard gauge. The section to the city centre was abandoned and covered with asphalt. The remaining metre gauge section (Volos-Velestino-Palaiofarsalos) was closed in 1999.
  Freight traffic declined sharply when the state-imposed monopoly of OSE for the transport of agricultural products and fertilisers ended in the early 1990s. Many small stations of the network with little passenger traffic were closed down, especially on the mainline section and between Karditsa and Kalampaka. However, travel times improved and the unification of rail gauge allowed direct services, even InterCity services, to link Volos and Kalambaka with Athens and Thessaloniki.
  Recently (August 2009) TrainOSE S.A. proceeded to a drastic cutback of passenger services on Thessaly lines. There are only six local trains on each direction on Larissa-Volos line and just four on Palaiofarsalos-Kalambaka. In addition, there is one train from Athens to Kalambana and back (884/885) and one InterCity train from Athens to Volos and back (IC40/IC41).
  The mainline of Thessaly was electrified and some services are now using HellasSprinter electric locomotives and Desiro EMUs. There are proposals to electrify the branch lines as well, in order to allow through services from Volos and Kalampaka to Thessaloniki.
caption: A MAN DMU at Kalampaka station,
  with the rocks of Meteora in the background.
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