Hellenic State Railways or SEK ( el, Σιδηρόδρομοι Ελληνικού Κράτους, ''Sidirodromi Ellinikou Kratous''; Σ.Ε.Κ.) was a Greek public sector entity (legal person of public law, el, Ν.Π.Δ.Δ.) which was established in 1920 and operated most
Greek railway lines until 1970.
History
The Hellenic State Railways took over the standard gauge railway line from
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
to
Papapouli at the pre-1912 borders, the extension from Papapouli to
Platy and most of the former Ottoman railway lines that were within the Greek borders after 1919. These lines were:
* ''Piraeus, Demerli & Frontiers Railway'' ( el, Σιδηρόδρομος Πειραιώς-Δεμερλή-Συνόρων), also known as
* Part of the former ''Thessaloniki & Monastir Railway'' (french: Chemin de fer de Salonique à Monastir or SM)
* Part of or CO, between Thessaloniki and Idomeni. The line from Alexandroupolis to Ormenio was transferred to the
French-Hellenic Railway Company
The French-Hellenic Railway Co. (french: Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique, or ''CFFH'', full name: ''Cοmpanie franco-hellenique des chemins de fer'', el, Γαλλοελληνική Εταιρεία Σιδηροδρόμων or ) was a railway comp ...
(, CFFH) of Evros ( el, Γαλλοελληνική Εταιρεία Σιδηροδρόμων or ) which was absorbed by SEK much later, in 1954
* The ''Thessaloniki-Constantinople Link Railway'' (french: Jonction Salonique-Constantinople or JSC) operating the
Thessaloniki–Alexandroupolis railway.
![Simplex petrol locomotive on the military Decauville line (600 mm gauge) Sarakli-Stavros in Central Makedonia (Greece) during WW1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Simplex_petrol_locomotive_on_the_military_Decauville_line_%28600_mm_gauge%29_Sarakli-Stavros_in_Central_Makedonia_%28Greece%29_during_WW1.jpg)
* The 66 km long ''Sarakli-Stavros'' line, a former military line ( gauge) constructed during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(see also:
Perivolaki – Nea Zichni railway line).
* The 50 km long Skydra local railway, a former military line ( gauge) constructed during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and initially operated until 1936 by a company called ''Local Railways of Macedonia'' ( el, Τοπικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι Μακεδονίας).
After World War II the Hellenic State Railways absorbed most other Greek railways, including:
*
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways
Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP ( el, Σιδηρόδρομοι Πειραιώς-Αθηνών-Πελοποννήσου "Siderodromi Pireos Athinon Peloponisou" or Σ.Π.Α.Π. (S.P.A.P.); french: Chemin de fer du Pirée-Athènes-Pe ...
(1962), which had already absorbed other minor metre gauge railways.
*
Thessaly Railways
Thessaly Railways ( el, Σιδηρόδρομοι Θεσσαλίας) 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 H ...
(1955), including Pelion railway.
* The French-Hellenic Railway Company (Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique) of Evros (1954).
Only ''Ellinikoi Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi'' (E.I.S., later
Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways), operator of Piraeus-Kifissia railway and Piraeus-Perama light railway, and the private mining and industrial lines remained independent.
The Hellenic State Railways existed until December 31, 1970. On the next day all railways in Greece with the exception of private industrial lines and
E.I.S. were transferred to ''
Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A.'', a state-owned corporation.
Network and other infrastructure
![20091129-7520-PapadiaBridge-A325 A326](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/20091129-7520-PapadiaBridge-A325_A326.jpg)
During this period very little expansion of the existing network took place, the most notable being:
* The
Amyntaio-Kozani branch (1955).
* The 15 km long line from to
Kulata
Kulata ( bg, Кулата , , el, Κούλα or Κούλατα) is a village in Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border chec ...
(1966), connecting the Greek and Bulgarian railway networks.
* Another 25 km long branch line from
Nea Zichni
Nea Zichni ( el, Νέα Ζίχνη) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, of Central Macedonia region, Greece. Population 12,397 (2011). Nea Zichni is also the name of the administrative seat of the municipality, population 2,530 (2011). ...
(Mirini) to
Amphipolis
Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is ...
(1931), which was later abandoned and the track was lifted in 1970.
* Conversion of the line between Athens and
Inoi to double track.
A contract was signed in 1928 for a new line connecting
Kalampaka
Kalabaka ( el, Καλαμπάκα, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was ...
to
Kozani
Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmona ...
, but the project was abandoned in 1932 due to lack of funds.
The Greek railway system (both infrastructure and rolling stock) suffered serious damages during World War II (especially in 1943–1944) and did not become fully operational until 1950. However the viaduct of Achladokampos in Peloponnese, destroyed in 1944, was rebuilt only in 1974.
In 1960 the line from Larissa to Volos, of the former
Thessaly Railways
Thessaly Railways ( el, Σιδηρόδρομοι Θεσσαλίας) 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 H ...
, was converted to standard gauge and was connected in Larissa with the line from Athens to Thessaloniki.
New station buildings were constructed in Thessaloniki (known as ''Thessaloniki New Passenger Station'' or ΝΕΣΘ) (1952), Larissa (1962), Lianokladi (1950), Sindos, Aiginio, Platamon, Florina, Edessa, Agras, Arnissa, Polykastron, Ptolemais and Kozani.
Rolling stock
Until 1962 the Hellenic State Railways used a variety of steam locomotives from various sources. Some of them belonged to the pre-1920 networks, a number were acquired as part of foreign aid programs after the war and a small number was procured.
Conversion to diesel traction began in the early 1960s. The first
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s were delivered in 1962 and included 30 Krupp Y60 shunters (Class A-101), 10 ALCo DL532B (Class A-201) and 10 ALCo DL500C (Class A-301). They were followed by classes A-221, A-321, A-351, A-401 and A-411 for the network and classes A-9101, A-9201 and A-9401 for the networks.
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
s were first introduced in 1936 and became more common in the 1950s and 1960s. Steam locomotives were slowly phased out but were still in limited use in December 1970.
Steam locomotives
The following table shows steam locomotives acquired by the Hellenic State Railways between 1920 and 1969. They also continued to use an assortment of older types of locomotives inherited from the previous Greek and Ottoman railway companies.
Diesel locomotives (standard gauge)
Diesel locomotives (metre gauge)
Diesel multiple units
The Hellenic State Railways bought their first DMUs in 1936 and acquired larger numbers in the 1950s. Additional
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
multiple units were inherited from networks absorbed in SEK.
See also
*
Railways of Greece
Rail transport in Greece has a history which began in 1869, with the completion of the then ''Athens & Piraeus Railway.'' From the 1880s to the 1920s the majority of the network was built, reaching its heyday in 1940. From the 1950s onward the ...
*
Hellenic Railways Organisation
The Hellenic Railways Organisation or OSE ( el, Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος, italic=yes or el, Ο.Σ.Ε.) is the Greek national railway company which owns, maintains and operates all railway infrastructure in ...
References and notes
*
*
* It is the only extensive and authoritative source for the history of Greek railways.
Further reading
* Contains brief history, simple line maps and extensive list of rolling stock until 1997.
*
*
*
*
{{authority control
Defunct railway companies of Greece
Government-owned companies of Greece
Railway companies established in 1920
Railway companies disestablished in 1970
1970 disestablishments in Greece
Greek companies established in 1920