The section between Alexandroupolis (formerly
Dedeagatch) and Svilengrad was opened in 1873 by the
Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) when the entire
Thrace was part of the
Ottoman Empire. The part between
Pythio and Svilengrad was part of the CO main line from
Istanbul to western Europe. After
World War I and the subsequent
Greek-Turkish War from 1919 to 1922, and finally peace in the form of the
Lausanne treaty, the
Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) ended up having a network straddling
Turkey and
Greece. This created operational difficulties, each country having now its own set of rules and regulations, currencies, and languages. In order to resolve this situation, the CO decided to split itself into two companies: one for the Greek part, one for the Turkish part of the railway. After the
Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 and the borders between Greece and Turkey were drawn, the line was in Greek territory with the exception of a long section from
Nea Vyssa to
Marasia via
Karaağaç that was in
Turkey. In order to get from Alexandroupolis to Dikaia, Ormenio and Svilengrad in
Bulgaria, trains of the
French-Hellenic Railway Company (Chemin de fer Franco-Hellenique) and later of the
Hellenic State Railways would travel through Turkish territory. Trains stopped at , which in Greek timetables was listed as (
Adrianoupolis)/Edirne. In July 1929, the
CO created the "Companie franco-hellenique des chemins de fer" (CFFH) or The French-Hellenic Railways Company (G.Ε.S.) as a subsidiary company to undertake the completion of the Alexandroupolis-Svilengrad section of the former Eastern Railways, its headquarters was located in
Paris. The CO transferred to the CFFH the Greek part of its line from
Alexandroupolis to Svilengrad, except for a short section of about 10 km in Turkey serving
Edirne Karaagaç station and for about 3 km between the Greek border and Svilengrad station in
Bulgaria. Overall, this line was 165 km long route from the
Aegean Sea port city
Alexandroupolis to
Ormenio the last station in Greece before entering Bulgaria.
Pythion station was the junction towards Turkey. Along with the infrastructure, the CO also transferred some motive power and rolling stock to the CFFH. The CFFH stock was transferred to CO shareholders on the basis of 1 CFFH stock for every 5 CO stock. These CFFH stock started trading on the market in July 1931. Regarding the
Edirne Karaagaç railway
enclave so to speak, the CO retained operating rights over the section Svilengrad to Pythion to be able to reach Edirne and even Svilengrad. On the other hand, the CFFH retained operating rights through the Edirne section of the line to access the Greek part of the line past Edirne, through to Svilengrad. When the Turkish part of the CO was sold to the
Turkish railways, these operating rights were also sold, enabling
TCDD to reach Edirne with its own motive power, albeit with a CFFH driver. Likewise, when
Greek State Railways (SEK) took over from the CFFH, they kept the operating right through Edirne Karaagaç. Operational working was facilitated by a provision in the
Lausanne treaty allowing for trains to cross the borders in and out of
Karaağaç without border control not custom taxes. These rights survived until 1971 when TCDD inaugurated its own line from Pehlivanköy to Edirne & Svilengrad fully on Turkish territory.
Realaignment in 1970s At the same time, in 1971,
SEK designed and constructed a direct connection between
Nea Vyssa and
Marasia within the Greek borders, thus avoiding Turkish territory and bypassing
Karaağaç and with a new intermediate
station at
Kastanies. The new passing loop section, which includes a new bridge over the river
Ardas is still in use. Arda's bridge was the biggest railway bridge in Greece. Some €2,77 million of that budget is allocated for feasibility study of the 62 km section. The package of measures aims to build or improve transport connections and connectivity across Europe, with a focus on sustainable transport. The project at the Pythion-Ormenio section envisions upgrading the existing line and the construction of a second one, as well as the installation of electrification signalling (
ETCS Level 1) along the entire stretch, with the aim of improving freight transport with
Bulgaria and
Turkey. Major overhaul including electrification and signaling upgrades was proposed in 2021 as one of the six railway projects of the Greek authorities submitted before the EU. In December 2021, ERGOSE SA published a tender note regarding the upgrade of the line between Alexandroupolis and Ormenio. The upgrade includes upgrade and doubling of the line, electrification and installation of ETCS signalling system. Deadline for submission of expressions of interest is set at 14/01/2022. The allocated budget was €1.08 billion euros, as of 2023. In July 2024 the
EU Cohesion Fund approved €187 million euros for the line's overhaul. The planned overhaul of the railway will provide a fast link between the
Egnatia Railway and the other sections of the Sea2Sea railway corridor. ==Main stations==