Proastiakos Athens

The Athens Suburban Railway, also known as Proastiakos Athens (Greek: Προαστιακός Αθήνας, romanized: Proastiakós Athínas), is a commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, including Corinthia, Boeotia, Euboea and Achaea.

Athens Suburban Railway (Proastiakos)

An OSE class 460 train in the median strip of Attiki Odos, bound for Athens Airport.
Overview
Area served	Attica, parts of Central Greece and the Peloponnese
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	5
Number of stations	53
Website	trainose.gr
Operation
Began operation	30 July 2004 (Line 1) 27 September 2005 (Line 2) 30 July 2017 (Line 3 and Line 4) 22 June 2020 (Line 5)
Operator(s)	TrainOSE
Number of vehicles	20 OSE class 460 EMUs
Technical
System length	292.65 km (181.84 mi)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC, 50 Hz
Top speed	180 km/h (110 mph)
System map to Patras under construction Aigio Eliki Diakopto Platanos Akrata Chalcis Lygia Avlida Lykoporia Kalochori-Panteichi Xylokastro Agios Georgios Kiato Dilesi Zevgolatio TrainOSE to Thessaloniki Corinth Oinoi Agioi Theodoroi Oinofyta Kineta Agios Thomas Megara Avlona Nea Peramos Sfendali Magoula Afidnes Aspropyrgos Agios Stefanos Ano Liosia Dekeleia Acharnes Zefyri Acharnes Railway Center Kato Acharnai Metamorfosi () Pyrgos Vasilissis Iraklio Agioi Anargyroi Nerantziotissa Athens Kifisias () Rouf Pentelis Tavros Line 3 to Syntagma Rentis Doukissis Plakentias Lefka Attiko Metro │ Hellenic Railways Organisation () Piraeus Pallini Paiania-Kantza Koropi Airport

The first Proastiakos line, linking central Athens with Athens International Airport, was inaugurated two weeks before the 2004 Olympic Games. Over the years, the network has been successively expanded to Corinth (2005), Piraeus (2007), Kiato (2007), Chalcis (2009) and Aigio (2020).[2]

Lines and services

The Proastiakos network of Athens consists of five routes: Piraeus–Airport via Athens, Piraeus–Kiato via Athens, Athens–Chalcis via Oinoi, Ano Liosia–Airport via Koropi, and Aigio–Athens/Airport via Kiato.[3] Trains run from 4:30 am to midnight daily, and there are 53 stations in total.[3]

Main services

The following table lists the routes and the stations for the Proastiakos network of Athens:[3]

Proastiakos routes

Route	Route	Stations	Length (km)
Line 1	Piraeus–Athens–Airport	19	48.2
Line 2	Piraeus–Athens–Kiato	20	123.23[1]
Line 3	Athens–Oinoi–Chalcis	19	82.8[1]
Line 4	Ano Liosia–Koropi–Airport	12	33.18[1]
Line 5	Aigio–Kiato–Athens/Airport	21	200.3[1] (Aigio–Airport)

Stations

The suburban railway connects with other rail services at the following stations:

• Piraeus: Proastiakos station is located near the southern terminus of Metro Line 1.
• Athens: connection with Metro Line 2 and TrainOSE mainline and regional services.
• Nerantziotissa: connection with Metro Line 1.
• Plakentias: connection with Metro Line 3.
• Pallini: shared station with Metro Line 3.
• Paiania–Kantza: shared station with Metro Line 3.
• Koropi: shared station with Metro Line 3.
• Airport: shared station with Metro Line 3.
• SKA: connection with TrainOSE mainline and regional services.
• Oinoi: connection with TrainOSE mainline and regional services.
• Kiato: passengers may transfer to TrainOSE replacement bus services to Diakopto and Patras stations.[4]
• Diakopto: northern terminus of the Diakopto–Kalavryta railway.
• Aigio: passengers may transfer to TrainOSE replacement bus service to Patras station.[4]

Future expansion

Lavrio branch line

A nine-station, 32 km extension of the Proastiakos network from Koropi to Lavrio was announced in 2016, potentially connecting 300,000 more people to the rail network at a cost of €160 million.[5][6] The project involves the construction of two new stations at Markopoulo and Lavrio Port, and five intermediate stops at Kalyvia, Keratea, Daskaleio, Thorikos and Kyprianos.[5]

Loutraki line reopening

In February 2019, OSE accepted a bid for the €12 million project to convert the former metre-gauge line between Isthmos and Loutraki to standard gauge, connect it to the Athens Airport–Patras railway and reopen it to passenger traffic by 2021.[7] Mytilineos–Xanthakis was selected as the contractor of the project. Due to an appeal by a rival bidder, the signing of the contract was delayed until 12 June 2019.[8] The project consists of the electrification of the Isthmos–Loutraki line and building two new stops, one at the casino and the other in Loutraki.

Rafina branch

A €40 million branch line from Doukissis Plakentias station to the town of Rafina has also been proposed.[9]

References

1. "Network Statement Validity: 2020 ANNEXES". Athens: OSE. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
2. "Kiato-Aigio railway section to re-open on 22/6 after almost ten years". Ypodomes.com. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
3. "Athens Suburban Railway". Athens: TrainOSE. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
4. "Itineraries (Buses) Kiato-Aigio-Patras" (PDF). Athens: TrainOSE. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
5. "Koropi – Lavrio". Athens: ERGOSE. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
6. "Suburban Train to Pull in to Lavrio Port by 2019". GTP Headlines. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
7. "Isthmos – Loutraki". Athens: ERGOSE. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
8. "Προαστιακός στο Λουτράκι: Κλείδωσε η ημερομηνία υπογραφής της σύμβασης". PeloponnisosNews Online (in Greek). Corinth. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
9. Toniolos, Panagis. "Οδική και Σιδηροδρομική σύνδεση Ραφήνας" (PDF) (in Greek). ADT OMEGA. Retrieved 23 August 2020.