Sfendali railway station

Σφενδάλη Sfendali
General information
Location	Malakasa, Oropos East Attica Greece
Coordinates	38°14′08″N 23°47′04″E
Owned by	GAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)	Piraeus–Platy railway[2]
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Train operators	Hellenic Train
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Platform levels	1
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible
Other information
Status	Unstaffed (as of 2021)
Website	http://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Previous names	Malakasa
Key dates
8 March 1904	Opened[3]
27 October 1983	Rebuilt
30 July 2017	Electrified[4]
Services
Preceding station Suburban Rail Following station Afidnes towards Athens Line A3 Avlona towards Chalcis
Location

Sfendali railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Σφενδάλης, romanized: Sidirodromikos stathmos Sfendalis) is a station on the Piraeus–Platy railway line in Malakasa, in the northern part of the Athens metropolitan area, in the municipality of Oropos, East Attica, Greece. It was inaugurated on 8 March 1904. It is owned by OSE, but services are provided by Hellenic Train, through the Athens Suburban Railway from Athens to Chalcis.^[5] According to the album "From the crowds in the metro", in the late 1960s, the former SEKs have been studying the connection of the Sfendalis station with Oropos.^{[citation needed][6]}

History

The Station opened on 8 March 1904, as Malakasa railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Μαλακάσα, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Malakasa), in what was then the Central Greece on what was a branch line of the Piraeus, Demerli & Frontiers Railway. The name reflected the area's older name; the station's name was renamed to its current name on an unknown date.^[6] In 1920, the station and most of the standard gauge railways in Greece came under the control of the Hellenic State Railways (SEK). During the Axis occupation of Greece (1941–44), Athens was controlled by German military forces and the line used for the transport of troops and weapons. During the occupation (and especially during German withdrawal in 1944), the network was severely damaged^[7] by both the German army and Greek resistance groups. The track and rolling stock replacement took time following the civil war, with normal service levels resumed around 1948. In 1970 OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibilities for most of Greece's rail infrastructure. On 1 January 1971, the station and most of the Greek rail infrastructure was transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. In 1983 the station was rebuilt, reaping on 27 October of that year. The line was converted to diesel sometime before 1990. 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.

In 2001 the infrastructure element of OSE was created, known as GAIAOSE, it would henceforth be responsible for the maintenance of stations, bridges and other elements of the network, as well as the leasing and the sale of railway assists.^[1] In 2003, OSE launched "Proastiakos SA", as a subsidiary to serve the operation of the suburban network in the urban complex of Athens during the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2005, TrainOSE was created as a brand within OSE to concentrate on rail services and passenger interface. In 2008, all Athens Suburban Railway services were transferred from OSE to TrainOSE.

The station was reopened on 6 May 2005.^[8] In 2009, with the Greek debt crisis unfolding OSE's Management was forced to reduce services across the network.^[9] Timetables were cutback and routes closed, as the government-run entity attempted to reduce overheads. 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. That same year on 30 July, Line 3 of the Athens Suburban Railway began serving the station.

Facilities

The ground-level station is assessed via stairs or a ramp. It has 2 side platforms, with the main station buildings located on the eastbound platform, these are, however, now inaccessible and partially rundown, with access to the platforms via stairs or lifts.^[11] The Station is housed in the original stone-built station (Now closed)^[12] There is no cafe on-site. At platform level, both platforms have sheltered seating and Dot-matrix display departure and arrival screens and timetable poster boards. There is no car park or bus connections at the station.

Services

Since 15 May 2022, the following weekday services call at this station:

• Athens Suburban Railway Line A3 between Athens and Chalcis, with up to one train every two hours, and one extra train during the peak hours.^[13]

Station layout

Line structure
to Thessaloniki to Athens

L Ground/Concourse	Customer service	Tickets/Exits
Level L1	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 1	to Chalcis (Avlona) ←
	Platform 2	to Athens (Afidnes) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Migration Criss

On 31 August 2019, the 09:10 train to Athens was delayed for more than an hour at Sfendali station, with officials removing refugees who moved daily from the reception center in Athens.^[14]

See also

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

References

1. "Home". gaiaose.com.
2. "Annexes". Network Statement (PDF) (2023 ed.). Athens: Hellenic Railways Organization. 17 January 2023. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
3. The Greek Railways (in Greek). Athens: Militos. 1997. p. 77. ISBN 9608460077.
4. "Important changes for the Athens Suburban Railway from 30/07/2017". TrainOSE (in Greek). Athens: OSE. July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
5. "Proastiakos timetable 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
6. "Επόμενος Σταθμός, Σφενδάλη". 21 July 2020.
7. "The Rack Railway, Diakopto-Kalavryta, an amazing journey".
8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
9. "Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός - Μουσείο τρένων". Archived from the original on 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
10. "It's a new day for TRAINOSE as FS acquires the entirety of the company's shares". ypodomes.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. "MONUMENTA-- for the natural and architectural heritage in Greece and Cyprus".
12. "Greek infrastructure spending sees shortfall of €67 billion in past decade". 27 June 2018.
13. Antoniou, George (20 June 2022). "Timetable: Athens-Chalkida and Chalkida-Athens" (PDF). Hellenic Train. Athens. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
14. ""Αστυνομικοί κατέβαζαν πρόσφυγες από το τρένο στη Μαλακάσα"".