Proastiakos


The Proastiakos is Greece's commuter rail service, run by Hellenic Train, on rail infrastructure owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation and GAIAOSE. These services connect a participating city's central railway station to important locations such as a city's port or airport, as well as its suburbs and occasionally nearby towns and cities.
As of September 2020, there are three Proastiakos networks serving the country's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras, providing them with commuter rail links towards their suburbs and also with regional services to other cities and towns. In 2016, the three systems carried 10.1 million passengers.
As of 8 January 2017, the lines between the central stations of Athens and Halkida have been electrified, allowing EMU train service. The lines have been changed, making Athens's central station the main layover station. Those lines are Athens – ATH, Athens – Kiato, Athens – Chalcis.
In Thessaloniki, there are two Proastiakos services. The first connects the city's Main Railway Station with the cities of Katerini and Larissa, and the second links the city with Edessa.
In July 2010, a new commuter rail service was launched in Patras on a section of the old Patras–Kyparissia line reconnecting the city with Rio. The service was later extended to Agios Andreas as Line P2. In 2020 services were reconnected to Kato Achaia via Agios Andreas as Line P1.

History

The concept of regular and frequent suburban and commuter rail services was introduced in Greece in the 1990s. It became possible due to extra capacity becoming available through improvements to the existing lines and the construction of new ones. In the past, suburban services ran on very infrequent timetables and were not very popular.
The construction of a new rail line between central Athens, its eastern suburbs, and the new Athens International Airport was decided in 1992–1993. During the construction of Attiki Odos motorway in the late 1990s, space was left between the main carriageways for the railway line. After two years of construction, the line to Athens International Airport opened in 2004. The first suburban services between Athens and the Airport were inaugurated using Stadler GTW and Siemens Desiro DMU trains.
On 27 September 2005, the new standard gauge rail line reached Corinth, terminating at a new station, located at Examilia. This line today is served by "Proastiakos" suburban services, while initially "Proastiakos" trains stopped at Nea Peramos, Megara, Kinetta, and Agioi Theodoroi. On 18 July 2006, three new stations were added: Ano Liosia, Aspropyrgos, and Magoula. On 4 June 2007, the line was extended from Athens Central Station to the port of Piraeus with 3 intermediate stations at Lefka, Rentis, and Rouf. This extension linked the airport with the port of Piraeus. On 9 July 2007, Proastiakos services reached the new station at Kiato.
Hellenic Train also runs "Proastiakos" commuter rail services between the cities of Thessaloniki and Larissa, on the modernised and electrified main line. The service initially operated from Thessaloniki to Litochoro in 2007 and was extended to Larissa in 2008.
In 2009 the brand name "Proastiakos" was also used for a short-lived regional service of four trains in each direction per day, connecting the cities of Xanthi, Komotini, and Alexandroupolis in the region of Western Thrace.
In 2010, TrainOSE created the Proastiakos Patras service which runs on the old Athens-Patras line from Agios Andreas to Agios Vassileos.
In May 2020 TrainOSE updated its electronic ticketing system to support social distancing on all Proastiakos services. The system stopped selling tickets when capacity on that train had reached 50 percent, TrainOSE CEO Filippos Tsalidis told reporters during a press briefing on safety measures to prevent Covid-19 infection during travel.

Athens Suburban Railway

The Athens Suburban Railway 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. Trains run from 4:30 am to midnight daily, and there are 53 stations in total.
On 18 January 2012, services were "temporarily" suspended on routes from Piraeus - Ano Liossia. According to a TrainOSE spokesperson, the interruption is due to technical problems; however no information on the progress of any work was given, services were rerouted via SKA.
The following table lists the routes and the stations for the Athens Suburban Railway since 15 May 2022:
Route numberRouteStationsLength
––19
, ––20
,, –17
––12
–10
–9

Connections

The suburban railway connects with the other urban railways of Athens at the following stations:
  • Piraeus: The suburban station is located close to the Metro Line 1 terminus, as well as the Metro Line 3 station.
  • Athens Central Station: connection with Metro line 2.
  • Neratziotissa: Connection with Metro Line 1.
  • Plakentias: connection with Metro line 3.
  • Kato Acharnes: connecting the line Kiato-Piraeus with Piraeus-Airport and Chalcis-Athens.
  • Acharnes : passengers can transfer to the mainline and regional rail service of Greece. Also, connecting the Ano Liosia-Airport and Athens-Chalkis lines.
  • 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.
  • Kiato: passengers can transfer to Hellenic Train bus services to Patras.

    Thessaloniki Regional Railway

The Suburban railway in Thessaloniki consists of three routes: one from Thessaloniki to Larissa, one from Thessaloniki to Florina. and one to Drama. Services run from approximately 5:00 am to midnight daily Thessaloniki Suburban Railway consists of three lines:
  • Line T1 connects and, with some trains starting at.
  • Line T2 runs between Thessaloniki and Florina, with some trains starting at.
  • Line T3 connects and Drama, with some trains starting at
Trains run from approximately 6:00 am to 22:00 pm daily on a fairly irregular basis, roughly once an hour. Both lines, however, somewhat complement each other between Thessaloniki and Platy. On 17 July 2014 services were cut back from eight to six services a day from Thessaloniki To Edessa.
RouteOpeningRouteLengthElectricTop SpeedStations
7 September 2007

7 September 2008 		–Yes12
25 January 2008

10 August 2013 		–No17
3 February 2020 –DramaNo20

Connections

Services towards Larissa also connect to the following long-distance and regional rail services:
  • Platy: passengers can transfer to the regional rail service of Western Macedonia.
  • Larissa: passengers can transfer to the mainline and regional rail service as well as trains to Volos.
Services towards Drama also connect to the following long-distance and regional rail services:
  • Serres: passengers can transfer to the regional rail service to Central Macedonia

    Patras Suburban Railway

Suburban railway of Patras consists of two routes. The first route from Agios Andreas station to the eastern suburb of Agios Vasileios began service on July 9, 2010. The route sees high passenger numbers as it serves the University of Patras and densely populated neighbourhoods and suburbs that are poorly served by other means of transport. For that reason, a bus shuttle service runs from Kastellokampos to the General University Hospital of Patras and the University of Patras campus. Trains run hourly from 6:23 in the morning until 23:23 in the evening, on both directions, every day. It serves 8 stations:
  • Agios Andreas
  • Agios Vasileios
  • Agyia
  • Aktaion
  • Bozaitika
  • Kastellokampos
  • Patras Central Station
  • Rio
Due to upgrade works on the Athens - Patras line, the section between Agios Vasileios and Rio has been closed, so trains now terminate at Rio station. However, a bus replacement service from Kastellokampos serves both Aktaion and Agios Vasileios. Plans also have been proposed to bring the section underground in central Patras.
The following table lists the routes and the stations for Patras Suburban services are:
RouteOpeningFirst section openedLatest section openedLatest station openedRouteLengthElectricTop SpeedStations
P129 2 2020–No10
P29 7 2010–No7

On February 29, 2020, passenger services began on the second route, extending from Agios Andreas all the way to Kato Achaia. The extension runs on part of the old single meter-gauge Patras-Pyrgos line.
In the early phase of operation, trains run from Kato Achaia to Patras Central Station. They will be departing from Patras Central Station every 2 hours from 6:37 to 14:37 and then from Kato Achaia Station every 2 hours from 7:41 to 15:41.
For the first three days of operation the early morning services of 6:37 and 7:41 will not be run, although a back and forth journey at 16:37 to Kato Achaia and at 17:41 to Patras Central Station is going to be run. This special schedule is organised in order to help visitors move around the city and its suburbs during the Patras Carnival going on that weekend.
Although regular passenger service will not see trains running in the evening, it is expected that from May onwards, when the tourist and summer season begins, trains will run hourly back and forth in order to accommodate the increased passenger flows towards the popular summer spots in Western Achaia.
The extension is 22 km long and has 11 stops. These are:
  • Patras Central Station
  • Agios Andreas
  • Odos Antheias
  • Ities
  • Paralia
  • Midilogli
  • Vrachneika
  • Tsoukaleika
  • Kaminia
  • Alissos
  • Kato Achaia
A bus shuttle service will run from Tsoukaleika to the Patras Industrial Area, serving people who work there.
The total journey time from end to end is around 30 minutes with a top speed of 75 km/h, although the line has the capacity to run at 90 km/h.
Fares
The price for a standard ticket is €1,40. However, the fare is expected to change after March 2, as a new fare and zone policy will take effect as follows:
Zone A: Rion - Agios Andreas
Zone B: Patras Central/Agios Andreas - Tsoukaleika
Zone C: Tsoukaleika - Kato Achaia
The bus shuttle/replacement services are included in the same ticket. This means passengers do not have to pay more than the standard fare of €1,40 to use both the train and the bus.