Orfana railway station


Orfana railway station is a railway station in Orfana, Karditsa, Thessaly, Greece.
It is located just east of the village. Opened in 1995, replacing an older station of the same name.

History

On 16 January 1972, at around 1645 hours on the line between Orfana and Doxara, a breakdown in communication between the corresponding stationmasters at Doxaras and Orfana caused an express train and a military relief train to collide in bad weather on the single track line. The southbound diesel hauled Acropolis Express and northbound Number 121 Athens-Thessaloniki, were allowed to proceed without first allowing a passing loop. 21 people died, and more than 40 were injured in one of the deadliest rail accidents in Greece. Nikolaos Gekas The stationmaster at Orfana was later sentenced to 5 years for his part in the disaster.
In August 2025, the Greek Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed the creation of a new body, Greek Railways to assume responsibility for rail infrastructure, planning, modernisation projects, and rolling stock across Greece. Previously, these functions were divided among several state-owned entities: OSE, which managed infrastructure; ERGOSÉ, responsible for modernisation projects; and GAIAOSÉ, which owned stations, buildings, and rolling stock. OSE had overseen both infrastructure and operations until its vertical separation in 2005. Rail safety has been identified as a key priority. The merger follows the July approval of a Parliamentary Bill to restructure the national railway system, a direct response to the Tempi accident of February 2023, in which 43 people died after a head-on collision.

Facilities

The station is an unstaffed halt, with few facilities, aside from two small shelters with seating. There is no cafe or shop on-site. At platform level, there are sheltered seating but no Dot-matrix display departure, arrival screens or public address systems; however, timetable poster boards on both platforms are available.

Services

The station is served the following Hellenic Train services: