Athens–Piraeus Electric Railways

Athens and Piraeus Railway

The line from Piraeus to Thision was inaugurated on February 27, 1869 as a steam train connecting Athens and its port, Piraeus, and was operated by Athens & Piraeus Railway Co (Greek: Σιδηρόδρομος Αθηνών-Πειραιώς or Σ.Α.Π.). The project was considered important, so Queen Olga and the Prime Minister Thrasyvoulos Zaimis attended the inauguration ceremony. There were 8 trains in each direction daily and 9 trains in each direction on Sundays.

In 1874 the Athens & Piraeus Railway Company was bought by the Bank of Industrial Credit (Greek: Τράπεζα Βιομηχανικής Πίστεως). Under the new ownership the railway procured additional rolling stock. Soon the line was extended to Omonoia Square with an underground section constructed with the cut-and-cover method.

The line was electrified in 1904 using the 600 V DC, third rail, top contact system (today increased to 750 V DC) by Thomson Houston.

Hellenic Electric Railways Company

In 1926 the operating company was bought by the Power and Traction Finance Ltd and renamed Ellinikoi Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi (E.I.S., Greek: Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρόμοι or Ε.Η.Σ., translated as Hellenic Electric Railways). In 1926 the sister company Ilektriki Etaireia Metaforon or H.E.M., also part of Power Group, took over the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge Lavrion Square-Strofyli railway. This line was eventually converted to standard gauge, double track and became an extension of the existing line, reaching Attiki in 1948 and Kifissia in 1958.

Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways

In 1976 E.I.S. was nationalized and renamed Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways S.A. (I.S.A.P).

A merger of ISAP with Athens Metro was dictated by Law 2668, however it was postponed indefinitely and the required Presidential Decree was never issued. In January 2011 the Greek Government announced their plans to merge ISAP with Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A., the company which operates Athens Metro, and with Athens Tram in a single new company.

In March 2011, the Greek Government passed Law 3920 to allow ISAP and Athens Tram to be absorbed by Athens Metro Operations Company (AMEL). The new company created from the mergers is named "STASY S.A." (Greek: ΣΤΑΣΥ Α.Ε.) and is a subsidiary of OASA S.A. The merger was officially announced on June 10, 2011,.

STASY is based at the former ISAP head offices, near Omonoia Square in Athens. Kostas Vassiliadis, a former chief engineer (1976-1991) and later CEO of ISAP between 1997 and 2000 became Chairman and CEO of the merged company until the end of 2012

Network

Today the only line of ISAP connects the port of Piraeus with the northern suburb of Kifissia. As it was originally designed for steam traction, the line runs mostly above ground. However there are no level crossings. It is built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) and is electrified using the 750 V DC (originally 600 V DC), third rail, top contact system, also used by Athens Metro Lines 2 and 3. The two systems (ISAP and Metro Line 2) have a physical connection at Attiki station.

From Piraeus the line runs eastwards to Neo Faliro and then north to Thision, approximately parallel to the main road connecting Athens and Piraeus. Between Monastiraki and Attiki the line runs underground. At Monastiraki passengers can change to Metro line 3 and at Omonoia and Attiki to Metro line 2. From Attiki the line continues north, following the alignment of the old "Attica Railways" through Patissia, the suburbs of Nea Ionia, Irakleio, Marousi and terminates at Kifissia. At Nerantziotissa passengers can change to the suburban line serving Athens International Airport.

Stations

Steam locomotives

In the early period (1869–1904) the railway used 22 steam tank locomotives of about 6 different types. The majority were of 2-4-0T configuration, made in the United Kingdom by Hudswell Clarke and Sharp Stewart. After electrification, some the steam locomotives were sold to the Hellenic State Railways (SEK).

First generation EMUs

Since electrification (1904) the railway used almost exclusively electric multiple unit (EMU) trains. The vehicles are classified in batches (or deliveries). The first four batches consisted of wooden passenger cars on iron or steel frames. Currently only a short train of two wooden railcars is preserved, modified with the addition of Scharfenberg couplers at each end and is displayed during special events.

The first generation rolling stock was numbered as in the following table:

Second generation EMUs

The fifth (1951), sixth (1958) and seventh (1968) batches were of steel construction, made by Siemens-MAN. At the same time Scharfenberg couplers were introduced.

Third generation EMUs

Currently ISAP uses only modern trains of batches 8, 10 and 11. Batch 8 (1983–1985) consists of five-car trains made by Siemens-MAN. Trains of batch 9 were made by LEW in the German Democratic Republic and have been withdrawn. The trains of the 10th batch (1994), similar to those of the 8th batch, were built by Hellenic Shipyards S.A. using Simenes-MAN design and mechanical parts. The 11th batch (2002) trains, with three phase AC motors were also constructed by Hellenic Shipyards S.A. using ADtranz-Siemens design and mechanical parts.

Other rolling stock

In 1904 two electric locomotives, numbered 20 and 21, were bought from Thomson-Houston.

In 1911 the railway bought from Goossens two steeple-cab electric locomotives (numbered 31 and 32) and a self-propelled electric freight railcar (41), capable of operating from third line or overhead line. These could operate over the Piraeus Harbour tramway, the Piraeus-Perama light railway as well as on the mainline to Thision and Omonoia. Freight railcar 41 was used initially to carry bags of transcontinental mail unloaded from passenger liners in Piraeus. Locomotive 32 is still in use, with the overhead collector removed.

In addition the railway owns a road-rail Unimog car and a ballast tamper.

During 1981-1984 ISAP leased six four-car, bright yellow trains of narrow loading gauge (type G-I or Gisela) form East Berlin's metro.

In the early 1980s consideration was given to the purchase of 60 secondhand cars of London Underground R Stock, built between 1938 and 1959, but ultimately no deal was made and new carriages were purchased instead.

Piraeus rolling stock works

Athens & Piraeus Railway, in common with most railways of the steam era, had its own rolling stock heavy maintenance works, located next to Piraeus station. In 1926 this became property of E.I.S. In addition to maintenance, repair and rebuilding, Piraeus works constructed a significant number of railway cars, mostly between 1880 and 1960. The most significant projects were the construction of 12 electric rail cars in 1923 and the rebuilding of rolling stock destroyed by allied bombing in 1944. Another noteworthy project was the construction of a small number of electric trams, based on a Dick Kerr model (1939).

An excellent example of the technical skill available at Piraeus works is the Royal Saloon (1888), a present to King George I of Greece. This luxurious vehicle was much admired and it was exhibited at the 1888 "Olympia Fair" (First Athens International Exhibition) held in Zappeion. The Royal Saloon survives to date, and is exhibited in the Railway Museum of Athens.

Proposed northern extension

An extension to the north was under consideration that would have been built in two phases, reaching Nea Erithrea by the end of the first phase and Agios Stefanos by the end of the second phase. Due to lack of funding, this extension was canceled in 2011.