Sofades railway station

Sofades railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Σοφάδων, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Sofades) is a railway station in town of Sofades, in the Karditsa regional unit, Thessaly. Located just outside the town center, it opened on 16 June 1886 by the Thessaly Railways (now part of OSE). Today TrainOSE oporates both regional and intercity services to desanations across Greece.

Σοφάδων
Sofades
LocationSofades 433 00,
Karditsa
Greece
Coordinates39°42′11″N 21°37′31″E
Owned byOSE
Line(s)Palaiofarsalos–Kalambaka railway[1]
Platforms1
Tracks1
Train operatorsTrainOSE
Construction
Structure typeat-grade
Platform levels1
ParkingYes
Disabled access
Other information
StatusUnstaffed
Websitehttp://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened16 June 1886
Rebuilt2000/2001
ElectrifiedNo
Services
Preceding station   TrainOSE   Following station
toward Athens
TrainOSE
toward Kalambaka
toward Thessaloniki
TrainOSE
toward Kalambaka
toward Larissa
TrainOSE
toward Kalambaka
Terminus
Regional
toward Kalambaka
Location
Sofades
Location within Greece

History

The station open 16 June 1886 by the Thessaly Railways.[2] The original station building (and the line) was designed by the Italian Evaristo de Chirico, (father of Giorgio de Chirico). The line was authorise by the Greek government under the law AMH’/22.6.1882.[3] 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 on to Kozani and then Veroia creating a conversion of the route from Volos to Kalambaka 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.[4]In 1955 Thessaly Railways was absorbed into Hellenic State Railways (SEK).[5]

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.[6] 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.

Facilities

The Station has waiting rooms on platform 1, however the station is (as of 2020) unstaffed, with no ticket purchasing facilities or parking.

Services

Today, the station is served by direct lines to the rest of Greece, via Palaiofarsalos, served both by intercity trains to Athens, Palaiofarsalos Larissa and Thessaloniki and Proastiakos to Athens.[7] Previously Thessaly Railways operated a narrow gauge service to Volos.[8]

In August 2009 TrainOSE S.A. proceeded to a drastic cutback of passenger services on Thessaly lines.[9] As of Spring 2020 There are ten (five in each direction) Regional services on Palaiofarsalos-Kalambaka Line. In addition, there is one Regional train to Athens from Kalambaka and back (884/885).

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References
  1. "OSE - 2017 Network Statement Annexes".
  2. http://www.trainose.gr/en/ιστορικός-σταθμός-βόλου/
  3. https://thessalyrailways.gr/?page_id=2768&lang=en
  4. Alexandros C. Gregoriou The Kalambaka - Kozani - Veroia railway 1928 - 1932 (Kopie im Internet Archive) at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)
  5. https://thessalyrailways.gr/?page_id=2768&lang=en
  6. "Upgrading of Paleofarsalos – Kalambaka line". ΕΡΓΟΣΕ. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  7. https://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/?lang=en#view=search;apo=%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%A1%CE%94;pros=%CE%A4%CE%A1%CE%99%CE%9A;date=2018-11-23;trip_type=single;return_date=undefined-undefined-
  8. "The Pelion Train, a mythical route". TrainOSE. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  9. TrainOSE S.A. "Timetables 1 August 2009", Tables 4A/B, 5A/B
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