Serres railway station

Hellenic Train
Σέρρες
Serres
Serres railway station, September 2007
General information
Location621 25 Serres
Serres
Greece
Coordinates41°04′26″N 23°32′10″E / 41.07381°N 23.53612°E / 41.07381; 23.53612
Owned byGAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)Thessaloniki–Alexandroupolis railway[2]
Platforms3
Tracks8
Train operatorsHellenic Train
ConnectionsProastiakos
Construction
Structure typeat-grade
Depth1
Platform levels1
ParkingYes
Accessible
Other information
Websitehttp://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened1900
ElectrifiedNo[2]
Services
Preceding station Thessaloniki Regional Railway Regional Rail Following station
Skotoussa
towards Thessaloniki
Line T3 Gazoros
towards Drama
Former and suspended services
Preceding station Hellenic Train Hellenic Train Following station
Sidirokastro
towards Thessaloniki
InterCity
Thessaloniki–Alexandroupolis
Fast train
Drama
Skotoussa
towards Thessaloniki
InterCity
Thessaloniki–Alexandroupolis
Gazoros
InterCity
Thessaloniki–Serres
Terminus
Preceding station Turkish State Railways Following station
Rodopoli
towards Thessaloniki
Friendship Express Drama
towards Istanbul
Location
Serres is located in Greece
Serres
Serres
Location within Greece

Serres railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός Σταθμός Σερρών, romanizedSidirodromikós stathmós Sèrres) is a railway station that serves the community of Serres, in Serres in East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. The station is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) (25 Min walk) south of the settlement but still within the settlement limits. The neoclassical station building (as of 2021) is unstaffed.

History

[edit]

The station opened in 1900. Serres was annexed by Greece on 18 October 1912 during the First Balkan War. On 17 October 1925, The Greek government purchased the Greek sections of the former Salonica Monastir railway[3] and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways, with the remaining section north of Florina seeded to Yugoslavia. In 1970 OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibilities for most of Greece's rail infrastructure. On 1 January 1971, the station and most of Greek rail infrastructure were transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. 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.

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.[4] In 2003, OSE launched "Proastiakos SA", as a subsidiary to serve the operation of the suburban network in the urban complex of Athens during the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2005, TrainOSE was created as a brand within OSE to concentrate on rail services and passenger interface.

On 9 September 2007, the station reopened. In 2008, all Proastiakos services were transferred from OSE to TrainOSE. 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. Services from Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis were cut back from six to just two trains a day, reducing the reliability of services and passenger numbers. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane[5] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE. Since 2020, the station has been served by the Thessaloniki Regional Railway (formerly the Suburban Railway). In July 2022, the station began being served by Hellenic Train, the rebranded TranOSE[6]

Facilities

[edit]

The station is still housed in the original 20th-century brick-built station building. As of (2020) the station is and slightly rundown.[7] It is unstaffed. There is no footbridge over the lines, though passengers can walk across, the rails are not wheelchair accessible. The station is however equipped with digital display screens and timetable poster boards. There is a cafe/restaurant, located ajasent to the stations main building.

Services

[edit]

As of 12 May 2025, Line 3 of the Thessaloniki Regional Railway calls at this station:[8] service is currently limited, with two trains per day to Thessaloniki (trains 1635 and 3633), one train per day from Thessaloniki (3632), and one train per day to Drama (1634).[9][10]

It was also served by two long-distance trains between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupolis, as well as the Friendship Express between Thessaloniki and Sirkeci in Istanbul (from July 2005 and February 2011): both services are currently suspended.

Station layout

[edit]
L
Ground/Concourse
Customer service Tickets/Exits
Level
Ε1
Side platform, doors on the right/left
Platform 1 T3 towards Thessaloniki
Island platform, doors on the right/left
Platform 2 TrainOSE towards Thessaloniki (Skotoussa)
Island platform, doors on the right/left
Platform 3 TrainOSE towards Alexandroupoli (Gazoros)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Home". gaiaose.com.
  2. ^ a b "Annexes". Network Statement (PDF) (2023 ed.). Athens: Hellenic Railways Organization. 17 January 2023. p. 5-6. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Le Journal des finances, 15 janvier 1926 (in French)
  4. ^ "Home". gaiaose.com.
  5. ^ "It's a new day for TRAINOSE as FS acquires the entirety of the company's shares". ypodomes.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  6. ^ "TrainOSE renamed Hellenic Train, eyes expansion | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. July 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Google Translate". translate.google.com.
  8. ^ "Map". Hellenic Train. Athens. 10 March 2025. Archived from the original (SVG) on 31 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Hellenic Train Ticketing". Hellenic Train (in Greek). Athens. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Δελτίο Τύπου 30/01/2020 – Νέα δρομολόγια μεταξύ Θεσσαλονίκης – Κιλκίς – Σερρών και αντίστροφα από". 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2021-03-16.