Kiato-Aegion railway line to operate in June

The operation of the new Kiato-Aegion double-track railway line is near. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the scheduled delivery for April was not been achieved and now the new goal, according to OSE President and CEO, Mr. Kostas Spiliopoulos, is for the line to operate in June.

According to ypodomes.com, after the end of the lockdown, the preparation for the operation has been restarted and what remains to be done is the safety drill with the participation of the Fire Brigade (which in the previous period could not conduct this exercise due to the situation) in the last tunnel of the section, in order to be certified.

According to sources close to the subject, a contact has been made with the General Secretariat for Civil Protection for the drill to take place by the end of this month.

The inauguration of the line, based on the current developments, is scheduled at some point in June. The most probable scenario is for the relevant ribbon-cutting event to be addressed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Kostas Karamanlis. For the record, it will be the first project to be inaugurated by Mr. Karamanlis, after he assumed his ministerial role.

The itineraries

What seems to be secured is the way itineraries will be conducted from Athens to Kiato. According well-informed sources of ypodomes.com, although the use of diesel trains were discussed, in the end the idea didn’t prevail due to the cost.

What would prevail is the launch of TRAINOSE electric train from Athens to Kiato. In Kiato, the train will stop and switch engines (from electric to diesel-powered). The delay is estimated at about 5-6 minutes. Then the diesel-powered train will continue its route from Kiato, terminating at in Aegion.

In the opposite way, the route from Aegio to Athens will take place. Travel time is calculated in less than two hours. Based on what is known so far, 4 itineraries will be carried out daily from and the town of Aegion.

One of the important news for the passengers of this route is that with one change at Ano Liosia train station they will be able to easily reach the airport of Athens and from Athens Central Railway Station to the port of Piraeus.

The trains that will be launched will be the same as those that currently run on Athens-Thessaloniki line. After all, for several years now, until the electrified network finally came into operation, engines had been switching daily on all routes.

Aegion to become a transport hub

What emerges as an important news is that the new terminal of the line, Aegion, will be transformed into a major transport hub for the prefecture of Achaia. The station is located 35 km outside the city of Patras and since everything points to the fact that the city will not see trains arriving for several more years, Aegio will be upgraded and will become the center of railway travel to Athens or more broadly to the country’s railway network.

A passenger who starts from Patras will be able to reach Aegio by TRAINOSE buses and from there continue his journey to Athens or the Airport or the port of Piraeus. It will be interesting to see if there will be a wider planning, so that the KTEL of Achaia or Ilia prefectures can be connected to the new railway line.

The new Kiato-Aegion line

It is noted that the new railway line is 71 km long and will be reopened after 10 years including three railway stations: Xylokastro, Akrata and Aegion as well as six stops Dimini, Lykoporia, Lygia, Platanos, Diakopto and Eliki.

The train will be connected to the rack railway at Diakopto station and thus the connection of the scenic route with the national network will be restored.

Kiato-Aegion line is part of the wider Athens-Patra axis. The first projects started in 2007 and it took several contracts to be completed. At this stage, this new section will operate without electrification. Modern electric trains will be expected to use the line in 2023, when the relevant contract is completed by ERGOSE.