Karditsa railway station

Καρδίτσας
Karditsa
	Καρδίτσας; Karditsa
	Karditsa station, May 2016
Location	Karditsa; Karditsa; Greece
Coordinates	39°21′14″N 21°54′53″E / 39.3539°N 21.9148°ECoordinates: 39°21′14″N 21°54′53″E / 39.3539°N 21.9148°E
Owned by	GAIAOSE
Line(s)	Express Palaiofarsalos–Kalambaka railway
Platforms	3
Tracks	3
Train operators	TrainOSE
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Platform levels	1
Parking	Yes
Disabled access
Other information
Website	http://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened	16 June 1886
Rebuilt	2001
Electrified	No
Services
Location
	Karditsa Location within Greece

Karditsa railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Καρδίτσας, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Karditsa) is a railway station that serves the city of Karditsa, Thessaly, Greece.^[3] Located 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) south of the center of Karditsa, the station opened by the Thessaly Railways, (now part of OSE). Today TrainOSE operates 11 daily Regional trains^[4] between Kalambaka, Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa and Palaiofarsalos.^[5]

History[]

The station open 16 June 1886 by the Thessaly Railways.^[6] The original station building (and the line) was designed by the Italian , (father of Giorgio de Chirico), however this building was removed and replaced with a newer building some years later. The line was authorise by the Greek government under the law AMH’/22.6.1882.^[7] soon after the liberation of Central Greece from the Ottomans.

After the First World War, the Greek state planned the ambitious construction of several new rail lines and links, including a standard gauge line from Kalambaka on to Kozani and then Veroia creating a conversion of the route from Volos to Kalambaka (though Karditsa) on standard gauge. In 1927, the relevant decisions were made, starting in 1928, work was carried out on the construction of the new line from Kalambaka. But a year later, it was clear that the project would exceed the estimated costs many times over. In 1932, the construction work was stopped and remains unfinished.^[8] In 1955 Thessaly Railways was absorbed into Hellenic State Railways (SEK).^[9]

Freight traffic declined sharply when the state-imposed monopoly of OSE for the transport of agricultural products and fertilisers ended in the early 1990s. Many small stations of the network with little passenger traffic were closed down, especially on the mainline section and between Karditsa and Kalampaka. In 2001 the section between Kalampaka and Palaiofarsalos was converted from Narrow gauge (1000 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) and physically connected at Palaiofarsalos with the mainline from Athens to Thessaloniki.^[10] Since to upgrade, however, travel times improved and the unification of rail gauge allowed direct services, even InterCity services, to link Volos and Kalambaka with Athens and Thessaloniki.

Facilities[]

The Station has waiting rooms on platform 1. There is a footbridge from platform 1 to platform 2/3, via stairs or lift. The station is staffed, with ticket purchasing facilities and toilets, with Luggage storage available.

Services[]

The station is currently served by Regional trains between Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa and Proastiakos, with up to six trains daliy in each direction.^[11]