The Alexandreia railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Αλεξάνδρεια, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Aleksándreia) is the railway station of Skydra in Central Macedonia, Greece. The station is located near the center of the settlement, on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway, and is severed by both Local and Proastiakos Services.

Αλεξάνδρεια Alexandreia
Alexandreia station building in Feb 2020
General information
Location	Alexandria 593 00, Imathia Greece
Coordinates	40°37′14″N 22°26′34″E
Owned by	GAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)	Thessaloniki–Bitola railway[2]
Platforms	4 (3 disused)
Tracks	5 (1 in use)
Train operators	Hellenic Train
Connections	[2]
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Platform levels	1
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	No
Disabled access
Other information
Status	Staffed
Website	http://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened	1892
Rebuilt	1894 (station building built)
Electrified	No
Previous names	Gidas
Services
Preceding station Proastiakos Following station Platy towards Thessaloniki Line 2 Loytros towards Florina Preceding station Hellenic Train Following station Platy towards Thessaloniki Line 2 Xechasmeni towards Florina
Location
Alexandreia Location within Greece

History

Opened 9 December 1892[3] as Gidas railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Γιδάς, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Gidàs) in what was then the Ottoman Empire at the completion of the first section of the Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir, a branchline of the Chemins de fer Orientaux from Thessaloniki to Bitola. During this period Northern Greece and the southern Balkans where still under Ottoman rule, and Alexandreia was known as Gidas. In its first year of operation, the section south of the station saw 43,555 passengers, 21,564 tonnes of freight, revenue of 4,617.62 gold francs per km and expenditure of 3,123.59 gold francs per km, encouraged the line to be extended from Skydra to Bitolia in 1894.[3] Alexandreia was annexed by Greece on 18 October 1912 during the First Balkan War. During the war, the station was used as a center of operations for the Greek army, as it had a telegraph office.[4] On 17 October 1925 The Greek government purchased the Greek sections of the former Salonica Monastir railway[5] and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways, with the remaining section north of Florina seeded to Yugoslavia. In 1953 the station along with the settlement was renamed Alexandreia.[6] During the civil war, Kouloura bridge was damaged, as a result passengers were transported by bus to Agra.[7] 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 Greek rail infrastructure where transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. 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.[8] 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.

Since 2007, the station is served by the Proastiakos Thessaloniki services to New Railway Station. In 2008, all Proastiakos were transferred from OSE to TrainOSE. In 2009, with the Greek debt crisis unfolding OSE's Management was forced to reduce services across the network. 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[9] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE.

Facilities

The station is still housed in the original brick-built station building. As of (2021) The station is staffed with a working ticket office. The station currently has three platforms; however, only two are currently in use. There are waiting rooms on platform one and waiting shelters on 2. Access to the platforms is via crossing the lines; however not wheelchair accessible. The platforms have shelters with seating; however, there are no Dot-matrix display departure and arrival screens or timetable poster boards on the platforms. There is also Parking in the forecourt.

Services

In 1892 trains departed daily from Thessaloniki at 06.50 and arrived at 08.00 in Kerzalar, at 08.39 in Guida, at 09.41 in Karaferia, at 10.12 in August (Naoussa) and at 10.49 in Vertekop. From there the train departed for Thessaloniki at 12.19 and arrived at 12.52 in August, at 13.28 in Karaferia, at 14.25 in Guida, on 15.04 in Kerzalar and on 16.09 in Thessaloniki.[3]

As of 2020, the station is served on a daily basis by three InterCity trains between Thessaloniki and Florina and 18 Prostiakos terminating at Edessa.[10] There are no Services to Bitola as the short international connection is now disused, with all international traffic being routed via Idomeni and Gevgelija.

Station Layout

L Ground/Concourse	Customer service	Tickets/Exits
Platform 2	non-regular use
Level L1	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 3	non-regular use
	Island platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 1a	Π2 towards Thessaloniki (Platy) ←
	Platform 1b	Π2 towards Florina (Loytros) →
	Island platform, doors on the right/left

External links

• Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος (ΟΣΕ) - GTP

References