Thessaloniki–Bitola railway

The railway from Thessaloniki to Bitola is a 219-kilometre long railway line, that connects the port city Thessaloniki in Greece with Bitola in the Republic of North Macedonia, via Veroia, Edessa, Amyntaio and Florina. The line was opened in 1894 unde the name "Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir", when the area was part of the Ottoman Empire.[2] The section between the international border and Bitola is not used anymore, and as of 2013 passenger services are restricted to the section between Thessaloniki and Florina. The easternmost section of the line, Platy–Thessaloniki, is part of the important connection towards Athens and Northern Greece.

Thessaloniki–Bitola railway
Vodena (today Edessa) station in 1899
Overview
Status	Operational up to Neos Kafkasos
Locale	Greece (West Macedonia, Central Macedonia), Republic of North Macedonia
Termini	Thessaloniki 40.6444°N 22.9294°E / 40.6444; 22.9294 Bitola 41.0197°N 21.3429°E / 41.0197; 21.3429
Operation
Opened	June 1894 (1894-06)
Owner	OSE
Operator(s)	TrainOSE
Technical
Line length	219 km (136 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track Thessaloniki–Platy, remainder single track [1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	only the section Thessaloniki–Platy [1]
Route map Line to Alexandroupoli and Sofia 0.0 Thessaloniki to Skopje 10.9 Sindos from Skopje 28.8 Adendro 36.3 Platy Line to Athens 38.6 Lianovergi 44.1 Alexandreia 49.6 Loutros 52.0 Kefalochori 54.8 Xechasmeni 57.4 Kouloura 62.5 Mesi 67.6 Veroia 79.1 Naousa 86.8 Episkopi 90.1 Petraia 95.8 Skydra 111.7 Edessa 119.1 Agras 136.8 Arnissa 152.2 Agios Panteleimonas 159.2 Amyntaio Line to Kozani 164.8 Xino Nero 178.5 Vevi Sitaria Florina 187.5 Mesonisi 200.4 Neos Kafkasos border Greece/North Macedonia Kremenica 219 Bitola to Prilep

History

The idea of a trans-Macedonian railway had existed since the 1850s when in January 1859 a Memorandum regarding the construction of the Salonica–Monastir (today's Bitola) line was signed.[3] It however wasn't until 28 October 1890 that the Ottoman Sublime Porte gave Deutsche Bank a concession to build the railway as a branch line of the Oriental Railways and to possibly further extend it to an Albanian port.[4][5]

"Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir" was setup as an Ottoman company and its headquarters were in Constantinople. The construction works started in May 1891 and were completed in June 1894. Upon completion, the line operations were given to the Chemins de fer Orientaux which were already operation the Salonique to Mitrovica and Vranje railways. Weather Baron Maurice de Hirsch took an active role in this railway is debatable considering he retired from Balkan railway building shortly before this project began. While at that time the practice of compulsory work was still in use, labor was cheap in rural Macedonia and the engineers were reported to be enthusiastically welcomed.[3]

After the end of Balkan Wars in 1913, the line ended fully in Greek territory, except for the last 17km to Monastir that ended up in Yugoslavia. The Greek government purchased the Greek part Salonica Monastir railway in 17 October 1925[6] and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways.

Locomotives

Locomotives of the Salonic Monastir Railway[7]

Number	Manufacturer	Qty	Year	Type	Comments	Picture
501 to 508	Sarono	8		C	Became SEK class Δγ
509 to 510	Maffei	2		1'C	became SEK class Eβ 231 - 232
521 to 523	Borsig	11		1'C	Became SEK class Eγ 521 to 523

Course

The eastern terminus of the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is the New Railway Station, Thessaloniki. Leaving the Athens–Thessaloniki mainline at Platy, it runs alongside the Aliakmon River, through Alexandreia and then passes through to Veroia, Naousa, and Skydra, before climbing to Edessa and then, along the northern shore of Lake Vegoritida, reaching Amyntaio. At Amyntaio the Kozani–Amyntaio railway branches off towards Kozani, serving Ptolemaida and the power stations of the national power company ΔΕΗ. The main line continues towards the city of Florina. At Neos Kafkasos, the international border is crossed, and after 219 km the city of Bitola in the Republic of North Macedonia is reached. This short international connection is now disused, with all international traffic being routed via Idomeni and Gevgelija.

Main stations

The main stations on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway are:

• New Railway Station, Thessaloniki
• Platy railway station
• Veroia railway station
• Edessa railway station
• Florina railway station
• Bitola railway station

Services

The Thessaloniki–Bitola railway is used by the following passenger services:

• Intercity, Express and Regular services Athens–Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki–Kalampaka[8]
• Local services Thessaloniki–Florina and Thessaloniki–Larissa[8]

References

1. "OSE - 2017 Network Statement Annexes". p. 5.
2. Bitola Station
3. Gounaris, Basil C. (1989). "Railway Construction and Labour Availability in Macedonia in the Late 19th Century". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 13: 143ff.
4. Georges Young: Corps de droit Ottoman,Oxford Clarendon Press, 1906. See page 118: Chapter C
5. Hertner, Peter (2006). "The Balkan Railways, International Capital and Banking from the End of the 19th Century until the Outbreak of the First World War". Bulgarian National Bank: 23ff. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. Le Journal des finances, 15 janvier 1926 (in French)
7. "SM". www.pospichal.net. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
8. "TrainOSE - 2013 schedules" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-19.

See also

• Chemins de fer Orientaux

Further reading

• Gounaris, Basil C. (1993). Steam over Macedonia, 1870-1912. East European Monographs. ISBN 978-0880332774.