- Chemins de fer Orientaux
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Chemins de fer Orientaux 
CO system in 1888.Reporting mark CO Locale Northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria, Northern Greece, Makedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary and Eastern Austria Dates of operation 1869–1937 Successor TCDD, OBB, JŽ, BDZ, SEK, CFFH Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) Headquarters Paris (1869-1878)
Vienna (1868-1912)
İstanbul (1912-1937)The Chemins de fer Orientaux (English: Oriental Railway, Turkish: İstanbul-Viyana Demiryolu) was an Ottoman railway company operating in the northwestern Ottoman Empire. It served 2 main lines between Vienna and İstanbul with branch lines to nearby cities. The railway operated between 1869 and 1937. The CO also hosted the world famous Orient Express on its tracks between Vienna and İstanbul.
History
After the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire considered building a rail link from İstanbul to western Europe. Such a line would make transporting troops to Ottoman controlled Eastern Europe. Finally a concession was given to Maurice de Hirsch to build the railway. The original route was to be a main line from İstanbul passing through Edirne, Plovdiv, Sofia, Niš, Sarajevo to Banja Luka, with branch lines to Alexandropolis, Thessaloniki, Burgas and Belgrade. In 1874 the CO operated 3 separate railway lines; İstanbul to Plovdiv with the Alexandropol branch, Thessaloniki to Mitrovica and Banja Luka to Novi Grad. These lines were not connected though. However the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 halted construction. The Congress of Berlin restored peace in the Balkans and with Russia. Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria became independent and Bosnia Herzegovina became occupied by Austria. The Congress decided that the Istanbul Vienna railway should be completed and created a special committee dubbed "Conférence à Quatre" (Austria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia) to oversee the project. Further delay occurred and the Conférence à Quatre could convene only in December 1882 in Vienna. The final agreement was signed on May 9, 1883. It provided for a goal to complete the line by October 1886. The route now chosen was via Belgrade and each government was responsible for the works on its territory. In 1885 the Bulgarian State Railways took over the Plovdiv-Sofia part of the main line but CO operated over it via trackage rights. The first through train between Vienna and Istanbul ran on August 12, 1888. Through running of the Orient Express between Paris and Istanbul started on June 1, 1889. Meanwhile a junction line between Skopje and Nis was completed on May 25, 1888. The Thessaloniki line was now connected to rest of the network.
After the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) most of the lines of the CO network were found within the borders of Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. These lines were integrated in the national networks of these countries.
In 1925 the Alexandroupolis-Pythio-Svilengrad section of CO, which after 1923 was within greek territory, was transferred to a new company, French-Hellenic Railway Company (CFFH).
External links
Turkish Era (1923-Present) Industrial 
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