Line length 74 km (46 mi) | ||
 | ||
Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ⁄8 in) | ||
The Lavrion Square-Strofyli railway (Greek: Σιδηροδρομική Γραμμή Πλατείας Λαυρίου - Στροφυλίου Sidirodromiki Grammi Plateias Lavriou - Strofyliou) was a Greek 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) (metre gauge) railway line that ran from Lavrion Square in downtown Athens to the suburb of Kifissia and further on to Strofyli.
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Attica Railways (1885-1926)
The line opened on February 4, 1885 as single track, metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in). Until 1925 the line was operated by Attica Railways (Greek: Σιδηρόδρομοι Αττικής), which also operated the branch from Heraklion to Lavrion. The headquarters of Attica Railways along with a rolling stock depot, repair workshops and goods sidings were located at Attiki station (Greek: Αττική), next to Liossion street.
From downtown Athens to Kifissia station the line followed the alignement of the current ISAP line. The downtown terminal (Lavrion Square) was situated a short distance from Omonoia square. The section from Lavrion Square to Attiki station currently runs underground (along Tritis Septemvriou, Rizou and Agorakritou streets) in a shallow cut-and-cover tunnel, but in the days of Attica Railways (until 1926) it ran at street level as a tramway.
From Kifissia the line was extended north to Strofyli. The section from Athens (Lavrion Square) to Heraklion was 9.2 km long and from Heraklion to Strofyli 7.4 km.
After 1900 the line was further extended from Strofyli as an industrial railway to the marble quarries of the English Marble Company at Dionyssos.
From Athens to Kifissia the line carried both passenger and freight traffic. The extension to Strofyli was used mainly by freight trains carrying blocks of marble.
Electric Transport Co. (1926-1938)
In 1926 the line was transferred to the Electric Transport Company (Greek: Ηλεκτρική Εταιρεία Μεταφορών, or Η.Ε.Μ.), member of the group Power and Traction Finance Co.. In 1929 the branch from Heraklion to Lavrion was taken over by Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways (SPAP). After 1926 trains to Kifissia departed from Attiki station, and the section Lavrion square-Attiki station was served by special tram service K.
The Electric Transport Company operated the line until August 8, 1938, when it was closed pending electrification.
Aftermath
The company Ellinikoi Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi or E.I.S. (Greek: Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι, or Ε.Η.Σ., predecessor of ISAP), reconstructed in cut-and-cover tunnel the section between Omonoia and Attiki station (1928-1930) and reopened it in 1949 as an extension of the railway connecting Athens and Piraeus.
The line between Attica and Strofyli was transferred to E.I.S. in 1950. It was reopened to Nea Ionia in 1956, and to Kifissia in 1958. The remaining section from Kifissia to Strofyli was abandoned.
Rolling stock
Initially Attica Railways used nine Tubize 0-6-2T steam locomotives (1885). Later it acquired nine Krauss Z 2-6-0T, plus one of the same type constructed in Piraeus by Vassiliadis Works. After 1929 only the Tubize locomotives remained in use on the Kifissia line, as the Krauss locomotives were transferred to SPAP for the Lavrion branch.