RAILWAY LINE ADRIANOPLE - SERABEY

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RAILWAY LINE ADRIANOPLE - SERABEY: The first serious attempt to create a railway network in the southern Balkan territories, occupied by the Ottoman Empire, was made with the signing of a contract on 17 April 1869 between the Minister of Public Works Davut Pasha and Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who founded the company Societe Imperiale des Chemins de Fer de la Turquie d' Europe. This company had as a project the construction of the network alone, while the operation would be undertaken by the company of the Austrian Railways of the South. The lines he would undertake to build were: Constantinople (Istanbul) - Andrianople (Edirne) 319 km long, Adrianople - Alexandroupolis 149 km long, Thessaloniki - Skopje 243 km long, Banja Luka - Bosanski Novi length 102 km, and Adrianople - Serabey 243 km long. This last section started from the station of Adrianople, which was located on the current bridgehead of Karagats (the original name of the station was Karagats) west of the River Evros. The current name of Serabey station is Septemvri. On 20 June 1873, the inauguration of the Constantinople - Serabey line took place, of which this line was part. The operation of the above networks was not undertaken by the Austrian company, but by a new company set up by Hirsch, which replaced his predecessor, called Compagnie Generale d' Exploitation des Chemins de Fer de la Turquie d' Europe (General Company for the Exploitation of railways of the European Turkey). In 1879 the exploitation was undertaken by a new company of Hirsch, the Compagnie d' Exploitation des Chemins de Fer Orientaux (C.O.). With the end of the First Balkan War and the Treaty of London on 30 May 1913, the line reached Bulgarian territory, but continued to be the property of the C.O. The Treaty of Lausanne, 24 July 1923, established the borders between Greece and Turkey, leaving a part of the line on the Greek side, and a small part in the Karagats region, which together with Adrianople they belonged to Turkey. The treaty also provided for the division of the Line Constantinople - Svilengrad, the Greek one based in Alexandroupolis and the Turkish one with its seat in Constantinople. Finally in 1929 the company Compagnie Franco-Hellenique de Chemin de Fer C.F.F.H. (French-Greek Railway Company GES) was founded and took over the Greek part of the line Alexandroupolis - Ormenio. On 7 May 1954, the Greek State acquired the line, which is part of the operation of Sidirodromi Ellinikou Kratous SEK (Hellenic State Railways). Nevertheless, the Treaty of Lausanne left a pendulum between the two countries. The train from Constantinople to Bulgaria passed through the railway bridge of Evros at the near of Pythio and heading north, near of Nea Vissa, it passed to the Turkish part (west of the Evros River), it was parked at the station of Adrianople (old station) and then near of the village of Marasia it returned to Greek territory, to go to the Greek-Bulgarian border (Svilengrad station). The corresponding issue existed with the Greek train, which had a route from Alexandroupolis to Ormenio (via Adrianople). Even the Orient Express followed this peculiar route. In September 1971, Turkey operates a parallel line east of the Evros River, which passes through the new station of Adrianople (within the city) towards the Turkish-Bulgarian border. Similarly, in Greece, on 2 November 1975, the Nea Vissa - Marasia section was put into operation, when the train ceases to pass through Turkey (in the following years the line was dismantled). Today the kilometer numbering of the stations starts from the station of Thessaloniki.

 

RAILWAY LINE ADRIANOPLE - SERABEY

RAILWAY LINE NEA VISSA - MARASIA

 

STATIONS - STOPS OF RAILWAY LINE ADRIANOPLE - SERABEY

Adrianople Turkey (Edirne)

Marassia

Dilofos

Dikea

Ptelea

Ormenion

Svilengrad

 

 

STATIONS - STOPS OF RAILWAY LINE NEA VISSA - MARASIA

Nea Vissa

Kastanee

Marassia