Velestino-Kalampaka railway
The Velestino–Kalambaka railway was an unelectrified Metre-gauge single-track railway regional railway line that connected Velestino in Central Greece, with Kalampaka.
| Velestinou–Kalambaka railway | |
|---|---|
 | |
 A DMU-2 trainset 4201 (formerly 2AK420.01 of SPAP) near Aerinos railway station, 2008 | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Party disused |
| Owner | Thessaly Railways/GAIAOSE[1] |
| Locale | Greece Central Greece, |
| Termini | Velestino 39.3901°N 22.7597°E Kalambaka 39.7030°N 21.6254°E |
| Stations | 24 |
| Service | |
| Type | Regional railway |
| Rolling stock | DMU-2 trainset |
| History | |
| Opened | 1884 |
| Closed | 1999 (partly) |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 142 km (88 mi) |
| Track length | 1,000 mm (Metre-gauge) |
| Number of tracks | single-track railway |
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge |
| Operating speed | 90 km/h (56 mph) (average) |
Route map |
|---|
History
The line from Velestino–Kalampaka was 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge width, with a length of 142 km that connected Velestino in Magnesia with Kalampaka in Trikala, crossing the whole southern and western Thessaly. It was one of the two lines of the Thessaly Railways (the other being the Larissa-Volos line). The connection with the Athens-Larissa-Thessaloniki standard gauge mainline at Palaiofarsalos, had a maximum gradient of 3% between Velestinon and Aerinon. The line Velestinou-Kalampaka was closed in stages, with the section Velestino-Paleofarsalos ceasing operations in 1999, while in 2001 the section from Paleofarsalos to Kalampaka was converted to standard gauge (1435 mm), to facilitate a direct connection with the Athens–Thessaloniki line at Paleofarsalos.
The tourist use of the line in the Velestino–Aerino section has been planned.
Stations
- Velestino (return by line to Larissa and Volos)
- Airy
- Farsala
- Palaiofarsalos (to Athens and Thessaloniki)
- Karditsa
- Trikala
- Kalambaka