Karditsa railway station

Καρδίτσα
Karditsa

Karditsa station, May 2016

General information
Location| 431 00,
Karditsa
Greece
Coordinates| 39°21′14″N 21°54′53″E﻿ / ﻿39.3539°N 21.9148°E﻿ / 39.3539; 21.9148
Owned by| GAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)| Palaiofarsalos–Kalambaka railway[2]
Platforms| 3
Tracks| 3
Train operators| Hellenic Train
Construction
Structure type| at-grade
Platform levels| 1
Parking| Yes
Accessible|
Other information
Status| Staffed
Website| http://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened| 16 June 1886; 138 years ago (1886-06-16)
Rebuilt| 2001
Electrified| No[2]
Original company| Thessaly Railways
Services
| Preceding station  |  Hellenic Train | Following station

|
|

Sofades

towards Athens

|  | InterCity

Athens–Kalambaka

|  | Fanari

towards Kalambaka

Sofades

towards Palaiofarsalos

|  | Local

Kalambaka branch

Former service
| Preceding station  | Thessaly Railways | Following station

|
|

Sofades

towards Volos

|  | Volos–Kalambaka  |  | Stasis Issari

towards Kalambaka

Location

Karditsa

Location within Greece

Karditsa railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Καρδίτσας, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Karditsa) is a railway station that serves the city of Karditsa, Thessaly, Greece.[2] Located 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) south of the centre of Karditsa, the station opened by the Thessaly Railways, (now part of OSE). Today Hellenic Train operates 11 daily Regional trains[3] between Kalambaka, Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa and Palaiofarsalos.[4]

## History

[edit]

The station open 16 June 1886 by the Thessaly Railways.[5] The original station building (and the line) was designed by the Italian Evaristo de Chirico, (father of Giorgio de Chirico), however, this building was removed and replaced with a newer building some years later. The line was authorised by the Greek government under the law AMH’/22.6.1882.[6] soon after the liberation of Central Greece from the Ottomans.

After the First World War, the Greek state planned the ambitious construction of several new rail lines and links, including a standard gauge line from Kalambaka onto Kozani and then Veroia creating a conversion of the route from Volos to Kalambaka (though Karditsa) on standard gauge. In 1927, the relevant decisions were made; starting in 1928, work was carried out on the construction of the new line from Kalambaka. But a year later, it was clear that the project would exceed the estimated costs many times over. In 1932, the construction work was stopped and remains unfinished.[7] In 1955 Thessaly Railways was absorbed into Hellenic State Railways (SEK).[6]

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. In 2001 the section between Kalampaka and Palaiofarsalos was converted from Narrow gauge (1000 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) and physically connected at Palaiofarsalos with the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki.[8] Since to upgrade; 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.

In 2001 the infrastructure element of OSE was created, known as GAIAOSE; it would henceforth be responsible for the maintenance of stations, bridges and other elements of the network, as well as the leasing and the sale of railway assists.[1] In 2005, TrainOSE was created as a brand within OSE to concentrate on rail services and passenger interface. In 2009, with the Greek debt crisis unfolding OSE's Management was forced to reduce services across the network. Timetables were cut back and routes closed as the government-run entity attempted to reduce overheads. In 2015 a 15-year-old child was airlifted to hospital after being electrocuted at the station.[9] In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE; currently, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane[10] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE. In July 2022, the station began being served by Hellenic Train, the rebranded TranOSE[11]

## Facilities

[edit]

The Station has waiting rooms on platform 1. There is a footbridge via stairs or lift from platform 1 to platform 2/3. The station is staffed, with ticket purchasing facilities and toilets, with Luggage storage available.

## Services

[edit]

The station is currently served by Regional express trains between Athens, Thessaloniki and Larissa, with up to six trains daily in each direction.[12]

## Station layout

[edit]

Ground level | Customer service  | Exit/Tickets

|
|

Level
Ε1 | Side platform, doors will open on the right
Platform 1 |  Express towards Larissa (Sofades →
Platform 2 |  Express towards Kalambaka (Fanari ←
Side platform, doors will open on the right/left
Platform 3 | Not in use

## Gallery

[edit]

* Karditsa train station stamp 1950

* The station before its conversion to standard gauge September 1990

* The station approaches, looking east towards Sofades May 2016

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karditsa train station.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Home". gaiaose.com.
2. ^ a b c "Annexes". Network Statement (PDF) (2023 ed.). Athens: Hellenic Railways Organization. 17 January 2023. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. ^ "Δρομολόγια ΤΡΑΙΝΟΣΕ". Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. ^ a b "HistoryEN | Thessaly Museum Railways". thessalyrailways.gr. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020.
7. ^ Alexandros C. Gregoriou "The Kalambaka - Kozani - Veroia railway 1928 - 1932 (Kopie im Internet Archive)". Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. ^ "Upgrading of Paleofarsalos – Kalambaka line". ΕΡΓΟΣΕ. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
9. ^ Καραγιάννη, Έφη. "alexandriamou.gr - Τραυματισμός Ατόμου από Ηλεκτροπληξία στο σιδηροδρομικού σταθμό Λεπτοκαρυάς Πιερίας". www.alexandriamou.gr. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
10. ^ "It's a new day for TRAINOSE as FS acquires the entirety of the company's shares". ypodomes.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. ^ "TrainOSE renamed Hellenic Train, eyes expansion | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
12. ^ "Δρομολόγια ΤΡΑΙΝΟΣΕ".