Diakopto–Kalavryta railway

The line starts at Diakopto before entering the gorge of Vouraikos. Makes stops at the locations "Niamata" (or "Mikrohelidou") and "Triklia". Between Niamata and Triklia there was an old stop (closed in 1960) at the kilometre 8.14 (the old stop Triklia). In the middle of the route, after , it makes a stop in the village of Kato Zachlorou, while at this point it serves the visitors of the historic Monastery of the Great Cave. Then, after of route, it makes a stop southeast under the village of Kerpini, where you pass, but do not stop at "Kerpini railway station" (formerly "Rallia"), and finally ends in Kalavrita. The line has 9 level crossings (with 6 asphalt roads and 3 dirt roads) of which 3 are guarded (one in Diakopto, one near Kerpini Station and one in Kalavrita). ==Stations==

The main stations on the Diakopto–Kalavryta railway are: • Diakopto railway station • Mega Spileo railway station • Kalavryta railway station ==History==

Work began on the line in 1885. The line opened on 10 March 1896, as a branch line of the Piraeus, Athens & Peloponnese Railways (SPAP) when the gauge line was completed in 1895. The line opened under the government of Theodoros Deligiannis however, work had been authorised by Charilaos Trikoupis government, as part of the grand project to connect all of Greece by rail. The line was built by French company ATON, with the assistance of Italian craftsmen who had acquired great experience in similar projects in the Alps. The construction of the network began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. by both the German army and Greek resistance groups. The track and rolling stock replacement took time following the civil war, with normal service levels resumed around 1948. In 1954 SPAP was nationalized once more. In 1962 the SPAP was amalgamated into SEK. In 1970 OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibility for most of Greece's rail infrastructure. On 1 January 1971 the station, and most of the Greek rail infrastructure, was transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. Freight traffic declined sharply with the deregulation of the transport of agricultural products and fertilisers in the early 1990s. Many small stations of the network with little passenger traffic were closed down. Between 2007 and 2009 all the rails and rack sections were replaced, and four new Diesel-electric trains were introduced. In 2009, with the Greek debt crisis unfolding OSE's management was forced to reduce services across the network. Timetables were cut back and routes closed, as the company attempted to reduce overheads. In 2016 to celebrate 120 years of railways in Greece, the Kalavryta station welcomed the mayor of Kalavrita George Lazouras, the philharmonic and trains of three different eras, and the album about the Cog Railway, written by George Nathainas was unveiled that day as part of the celebrations along with a commemorative stamp. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE. In 2019 services were suspended due to a landslide. On April 29, 2024, service resumed with 3 roundtrips 7 days a week and 2 additional roundtrips daily on weekends. ==Extensions==

• Tripoli: The original plans of the line envisaged the extension of the line from Kalavrita to Tripoli, but it was cancelled for financial reasons during the construction phase of the line before any works had begun. • Agia Lavra - Chelmos Ski Station: Since 1996 OSE. has been planning an extension of the line from Kalavrita to the historic Monastery of Agia Lavra and the Ski Center of Kalavrita with a length of . In January 2021, the issue of extension entered the auction trajectory due to the celebration of the National Uprising bicentennial. In the first phase, there will be a bus connection of the cogwheel railway from Kalavrita to Chelmos Ski Station. == Technical information ==

The railway is single line with gauge. It climbs from sea level to in with a maximum gradient of 17.5%. There are three sections with Abt system rack for a total of 3.8 km. Maximum speed is for adhesion sections and for rack sections. There are many bridges over the Vouraikos River, numerous tunnels, and passing loops at Niamata, Triklia, Zachlorou and Kerpini. The rolling stock sheds and maintenance facilities are located at Diakopto; there were additional facilities at Kalavrita station during the steam era, but they are no longer in use. The line was to be electrified and electric multiple units were ordered from Billard in France. Before the cars arrived, the electrification plans were cancelled and the electric multiple units were thus not usable when they arrived. As a makeshift solution, a power car carrying a diesel generator was placed between the two cars, a solution that has worked very well for decades. ==Service==

Between 2007 and 2009 OSE undertook large scale improvement works and upgrades across the line, including bridges, enlargement of tunnels and replacement of the rack and testing of new rolling stock. , there are three trips on weekdays and five on weekends. Passengers buying a round-trip ticket from Diakopto and taking the first train to Kalavrita were allowed to return later in the day on any of the other service. An extended service on weekends and public holidays is operated with two additional trains. == Rolling stock ==

Steam locomotives Six steam locomotives were constructed specifically for this line, on a basic design by Cail (1891). Diesel trainsets The first batch of modern rolling stock for the Diakopto–Kalavryta railway consists of three Diesel-electric trainsets (Class 3001) built by Billard in 1958. They were numbered ΑΔΚ 01 to ΑΔΚ 03, later renumbered as ΑΒδφπτ 3001 to ΑΒδφπτ 3003. Three similar trainsets (Class 3004) built by Decauville were added in 1967. They were numbered ΑΒδφπτ 3004 to ΑΒδφπτ 3006. These trainsets, both types of similar configuration, consist of two passenger cars (a motor car and a control car) and a generator trailer or "OPE" () between them. In addition, a steam locomotive (ΔΚ 8003, delivered by Cail in 1891) is preserved at Kalavryta station and has been used occasionally for special trains. Four new three-car Diesel-electric trainsets were ordered from Stadler Rail to replace the old rolling stock and entered service in 2009. These are designated as Class 3107. ==Reception==

The railway and its Diakofto steam engine (called Madame Hortense) feature prominently in Gerald Durrells 1974 fantasy children's book "The Talking Parcel and its film adaptation". ==Gallery==

File:Diakofto Kalavrita railway (7).jpg|Diakopto–Kalavryta railway unit File:Diakofto.jpg|New (Stadler) and old (Decauville) rolling stock of the Diakofto-Kalavrita rack railway at Diakofto Engine Station. April 2009 File:Diakofto Kalavrita railway (1).jpg|Diakofto-Kalavrita railway station July 2009 File:20090314-Kalavryta-DK8001.jpg|Cail narrow gauge (750 mm) steam locomotive ΔΚ-8001 and observation car ΑΒ ΔΚ-121 of the Diakofto-Kalavryta rack railway . File:Vouraikos-train Peloponnese.jpg|Gorge with mountain creek Vouraikos, January 2002 File:Zachlorou.png|Zachlorou village in Achaia, with Bridge in the foreground. File:Gr97VouraikosMegaSpileon2.jpg|Mega Spileo railway station, May 1997. File:Diakofto Kalavrita Railway 02.jpg|(Now disused) Kerpini railway station, July 2007. == References ==