Acharnes Railway Center

Σιδηροδρομικό Κέντρο Αχαρνών Acharnes Railway Center
Acharnes Railway Center, July 2013
Location	Acharnes 136 71, Athens East Attica Greece
Coordinates	38°03′59″N 23°44′12″E / 38.06639°N 23.73667°E / 38.06639; 23.73667Coordinates: 38°03′59″N 23°44′12″E / 38.06639°N 23.73667°E / 38.06639; 23.73667
Owned by	GAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)	InterCity   Express   Regional Piraeus–Platy railway, Athens Airport–Patras railway[2]
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	[2]
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[2]
Previous names	Menidi Railway Center (SKM)
Services
Preceding station   Proastiakos   Following station Agioi Anargyroi towards Athens Line 3 Acharnes towards Chalcis Ano Liosia Terminus Line 4 Metamorfosi towards Airport Preceding station   TrainOSE   Following station Athens Terminus Regional Oinoi toward Leianokladi Athens Terminus Express Oinoi toward Kalambaka Athens Terminus InterCity Oinoi toward Thessaloniki
Location
Acharnes Location within Greece

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 linking The main Piraeus–Platy railway line from Athens Central to Thessaloniki and the Athens Airport–Patras railway line connecting Athens International Airport and East Attica with the Athens Urban Areas. The station opened in April 2011.^[3]

History[]

Acharnes Railway Center
Piraeus–Platy railway to Oinoi Acharnai SKA Athens Airport–Patras railway to Ano Liosia│to Athens Airport E94 / A6 Attiki Odos Piraeus–Platy railway to Athens

The station opened on 5 April 2011. Plans for a interchange had been part of future expansion plans to Corinth. Before construction had started in 2005, the station was initially to be named Menidi Railway Center (SKM). By 2010, the electrification works of the lines 3 and 4 with 25 kV AC, 50 Hz neared completion, and was opened^[4][5] on the Oinoi–Chalcis line in 2013,^[6] in the sections SKA-Oinoi and Treis Gefyres – SKA in 2015,^[7] and finally in the section Three Bridges – Piraeus in 2018.^[8] In fact, the advent of electrification in SS. Athenson July 30, 2017 led to the modification of the lines of the Suburban Railway to have as a starting point the central station of the capital.^[9] The station opened during the Greek debt crisis. With the crisis unfolding OSE's Management was forced to reduce services across the network. Timetables were cutback, and routes closed as the government-run entity attempted to reduce overheads. Services from Athens Airport & Athens were cut back, with some ticket offices closing, reducing the reliability of services, and passenger numbers. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane^[10] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane^[11] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE.

From 2018-20 a short 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) section of the old old Peloponnese line was extended to Elefsina from SKA as part of the 2020 capital of culture.^[12] On 1 February 2018, the electrification of the Piraeus-Athens Central station section of the network was completed. Proastiakos was extended to Aigio in 2020.^[10] In October 2021 it was announced^[13] Network improvements between SKA and Oinoi to improve current services and upgrade existing infrastructure would be carried out.^[14][15]

Facilities[]

The station building is adjacent to the southbound platforms, with access to the platform level via stairs or lift.^[16] currently the station has two working side platforms but has been future-proofed for expansion a further eight platforms. Access to the station is via steps or ramp. The Station buildings are also equipped with toilets and a staffed booking office. At platform level, there are sheltered seating in a new air-conditioned indoor passenger shelter^[16] and Dot-matrix display departure and arrival screens or timetable poster boards on both platforms. There is a large car park on-site, adjacent to the southbound line. The station has two side 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 served the following lines of the Athens Proastiakos^[17] or suburban railway:

Line 3^[18] Athens - Chalcis^[19] with 1 tph. (transfer to Regional, Express & InterCity services at Athens).^[20]

Line 4^[21] Ano Liosia - Airport^[22] with 1 tph (transfer to Regional, Express & InterCity services at Athens).

The station is served the following services:

• Regional services (1510, 1511) to Athens and Leianokladi.
• Express services (884, 885) to Athens and Kalambaka.
• Intercity routes to Athens and Thessaloniki (8 trains per day)

The station is also served by local and regional buses:

KTEL^[23] operates Lines 740 (Olympic Village - SKA - Acharnai - Agia Anna), 755 (Acharnai - St. Kato Patisia) ^[24]

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 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 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[]

Delays^[25] in both opening and connection to Corinth^[26] 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.

See also[]

• Railways of Greece
• Hellenic Railways Organization
• TrainOSE
• Proastiakos
• P.A.Th.E./P.

References[]