Acharnes Railway Center
The Acharnes Railway Center (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικό Κέντρο Αχαρνών) or SKA is a two-level railway station in the northern parts of the Athens Urban Area, in the municipality of Acharnes, where several important railway lines converge. It is an important passenger interchange station, opened in April 2011.[2]
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 Acharnes Railway Center, July 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Acharnes, Athens East Attica Greece | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°03′59″N 23°44′12″E | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | OSE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Piraeus–Platy railway, Athens Airport–Patras railway[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 Side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 15 (2 for the Athens - Thessaloniki line, 1 for Proastiakos Trains, 1 for freight trains from Piraeus and Thriasion to Northern Greece, 4 tracks from/to Peloponnese and 7 unused tracks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train operators | TrainOSE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | .svg.png.webp){kind=icon} [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | at-grade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platform levels | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disabled access |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | http://www.ose.gr/en/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 5 April 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | 25 kV AC[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Menidi Railway Center (SKM) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Acharnes Location within Greece | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History
The station opened on 5 April 2011, before construction in 2005 it was initially to be named Menidi Railway Center (SKM).
Facilities
The station has waiting shelters on the platforms and staffed booking office. The station is equipped with a large car park within the station.
The station has eight platforms, as well as one low-level platform in the median of Attiki Odos toll highway. Currently, only this and two other platforms are used.
Services
The station is situated on a junction. The lines are
- The main Piraeus–Platy railway line from Athens Central (Larissa station) to Oinoi , Chalcis and Thessaloniki.
- The Athens Airport–Patras railway line connecting Athens International Airport and East Attica with the Athens Urban Area.
As of 2019 the station is served by eight trains per day to Thessaloniki, one train per hour between the Airport and Ano Liosia, one train per hour between Koropi and Ano Liosia,[3] and one train per 2 hours between Athens and Chalcis.[4]
The station has a correspondence with the bus lines 755 (Acharnai - St. Kato Patisia) and 740 (Olympic Village - SKA - Acharnai - Agia Anna)
Future
Usage of the seven remaining platforms
Apart from the two platforms on the Athens to Thessaloniki Line and the Proastiakos platform low level platform, the station has six platforms that remain unused. Those platforms exist in order to accommodate future services, especially after the completion of the P.A.Th.E./P..
- Platforms 1 and 2, which serve tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively, will open after the completion of the Athens to Patras line. Trains go through these tracks daily, however they do not call at the station. The Athens to Patras line has already been completed as far as Aigio. The next sections are under construction (the link to the city of Patras is still under planning) and will open in stages from 2020 onwards.
- Platforms 3 and 4 serve tracks 5, 6, 7 and 8. They will be used in case the Acharnes Bypass is completed. If completed, intercity and regional will be redirected through a tunnel, bypassing Acharnes, that will allow them to reach higher speeds, thus reducing travel times. Construction of this bypass seemed likely because the line north of Athens is expected to suffer from capacity issues and become a major bottleneck in the Greek Rail Network. Lack of finance as well as another proposal with the same goal, the Thriasion - Thiva Line have put this project on hold.
- Platforms 5 and 6, which serve tracks 9, 10 and 11 are terminating platforms. Usage of these platforms is highly unlikely because extending services further from the station instead of having them terminate there is more favourable because of financial reasons, as well as the fact that they would attract more passengers.
Metro Station
A future station has been proposed on Athens Metro Line 5. It will not open before 2030.
Criticism
Low usage of the station and its unnecessarily large size and the number of platforms have led to the project being criticised as a white elephant.
References
- "OSE - 2017 Network Statement Annexes".
- Σε πορεία εξυγίανσης ο όμιλος ΟΣΕ
- "2013 railway timetable Athens Airport-Kiato" (PDF). Proastiakos. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- "2013 railway timetable Piraeus-Chalcis" (PDF). TrainOSE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.