- OSE Karaağaç Cut Off
-
The Karaağaç Cut off line is a 9 km railway line connecting the stations of Nea Vyssa and Marasia in Greece (Evros Prefecture). The section, part of the Alexandroupolis to Ormenio/Svilengrad line, is owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) and operated by TrainOSE S.A.
History
The line connecting Alexandroupolis (formerly Dedeağaç) and Ormenio was constructed by the Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) when the entire Thrace was part of the Ottoman Empire. After the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 and the borders between Greece and Turkey were drawn, the line was in Greek territory with the exception of a 10 km (6.2 mi) long section from Nea Vyssa to Marasia via Karaağaç that was in Turkey. In order to get from Alexandroupolis to Dikaia, Ormenio and Svilengrad in Bulgaria, trains of the French-Hellenic Railway Company (Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique) and later of the Hellenic State Railways would travel through Turkish territory. Trains stopped at Karaağaç, which was listed as Adrianoupolis (Greek: Αδριανούπολις)/Edirne in timetables.
When the Hellenic Railways Organisation took over in 1971, they designed and constructed a 9 km (5.6 mi) direct connection between Nea Vyssa and Marassia within the Greek borders, bypassing Karaağaç and with a new intermediate station at Kastanies. The new line section, which includes a new bridge over River Ardas, was opened in 1975 and is still in use.[1] The station of Karaağaç was abandoned and is now used as the administrative building of Trakya University.[2]
References
- ^ I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. (1997) (in Greek). Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways). Μίλητος (Militos). pp. 126. ISBN 960-8460-07-7.
- ^ Trains of Turkey
External links
This article about transport in Greece is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
