Velestino railway station ( el, Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός Βελεστίνου, Sidirodromikos Stathmos Velestino) is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
in
Velestino
Velestino ( el, Βελεστίνο; rup, Velescir) is a town in the Magnesia regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality Rigas Feraios.
Location
It is situated at elevation on a hillside, at the southeastern end of ...
in
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. It is located outside the settlement. The station lies west of Volos and southeast of Larissa. The station is situated at a junction
Volos–Kalambaka and Volos–Larissa lines. The station is close to the
E06 Motorway.
History
The station was opened on 22 April 1884 by the
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 ...
(now part of
OSE). The line was designed by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Evaristo de Chirico Evaristo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name:
* Evaristo Avalos (born 1933), Mexican equestrian
* Evaristo Barrera (1911–1982), Argentine football striker
* Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677), Italia ...
, (father of
Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian
artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...
) soon after the liberation of
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
from the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
. The station stood at a junction
Volos–Kalambaka and Volos–Larissa lines (it must be noted the current line to Larissa followed a different alignment). The station also housed a large maintenance depot to the north, which now lies underused and overgrown. In 1960 the line from
Larissa to Volos was converted to standard gauge and connected at
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
with the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki, allowing
OSE to run through services to Volos from Athens and Thessaloniki. In 1955
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 absorbed into
Hellenic State Railways 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 ...
(SEK). In 1960 the line from
Larissa to Volos was converted to standard gauge and connected through
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
to the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki, 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
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 ...
trains and gauge for
Pellon trains. In 1970
OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibilities for most of Greece's rail infrastructure.
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. In 2005, TrainOSE was created as a brand within OSE to concentrate on rail services and passenger interface. In July 2022, the station began being served by
Hellenic Train
Hellenic Train S.A., formerly TrainOSE S.A. ( el, ΤραινΟΣΕ Α.Ε., pronounced ''trenosé'') is a private railway company in Greece which currently operates passenger and freight trains on OSE lines. TrainOSE was acquired in September 201 ...
, the rebranded TranOSE The move was welcomed by the mayor of Serres,
Alexandros Chrysafis
Alexandros may refer to:
*Alexandros, a Greek name, the origin for the English name Alexander
*Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great
* Alexandros, Greece, a village on the island of Lefkada
*Alexandros (band)
, styli ...
.
In 2009, with the
Greek debt crisis
Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis (Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that le ...
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 2017
OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as
TrainOSE
Hellenic Train S.A., formerly TrainOSE S.A. ( el, ΤραινΟΣΕ Α.Ε., pronounced ''trenosé'') is a private railway company in Greece which currently operates passenger and freight trains on OSE lines. TrainOSE was acquired in September 201 ...
, currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE.
Facilities
The old station still stands but is not in regular use; as of (2021) the station is unstaffed, with no staffed booking office and just simple bus-like waiting rooms. the original track aliment has been moved, so access to the platforms is via crossing the lines. The platforms have no outside seating,
Dot-matrix display
A dot-matrix display is a low cost electronic digital display device that displays information on machines such as clocks, watches, calculators, and many other devices requiring a simple alphanumeric (and/or graphic) display device of limited re ...
departure and arrival screens or timetable poster boards for passenger information. The station remains little more than an unstaffed halt. However, the station has parking facilities.
Services
Today, the town is served by direct lines to the rest of Greece via
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
and is directly linked with Athens once per day, with
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
twice per day, and with
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
15 times a day. There is also a direct service to
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
and the ferries.
The station was also the starting point of the
Velestino-Kalampaka line until its closure in 1999.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Velestino Station - National Railway Network''Greek Travel Pages''
Transport in Magnesia (regional unit)
Railway stations in Thessaly
Railway stations opened in 1884
Buildings and structures in Magnesia (regional unit)
Thessaly Railways