The railway was an important link during World War I as the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary were all
Central Allies. After the Ottoman Empire's defeat, its remaining imperial possessions were divided. The sections from
Alexandroupoli to Svilengrad, except for a short section of about in Turkey serving
Edirne Karaagaç station and for between the Greek border and
Svilengrad station in
Bulgaria come under the control of the
French-Hellenic Railway Company (CFFH), a subsidiary of the CO, when the CFFH was incorporated in July 1929. Under the
Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, a new border between Greece and Turkey was established at the Evros river, just east of Ftelia railway station, which had the result that the railway from Istanbul to Bulgaria entered Greece at Pythio, then re-entered Turkey at Edirne (
Karaağaç railway station), re-entered Greece at
Marasia, and finally entered Bulgaria between Ormenio and
Svilengrad. This arrangement continued until 1971 when two new lines were opened. In Turkey, the
Edirne Cut-off was opened to allow trains from Istanbul to Bulgaria to run through Edirne entirely on Turkish territory so that trains such as the
Orient Express no longer passed through Feres. In Greece, a line was opened to allow trains from Pythio to Bulgaria to stay on Greek territory and avoid Edirne. In 1954 the CFFH was absorbed by the
Hellenic State Railways. In 1971, the Hellenic State Railways was reorganised into the
OSE taking over responsibilities for most for Greece's rail infrastructure. 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. In the 1990s, OSE introduced the InterCity service to the
Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad line Which reduced travel times across the whole line. in 2017, limited works where carried out at the station, the buildings where painted, and the platform was paved. In 2020 it was announced that the section of line between
Pythio and
Ormenio was to be upgraded, at the cost of €1.4 million as part of an ambitious integrated intergovernmental transport plan which will see this, and 39 other transport sector projects be built, with financing from the
European Commission with a total of €117 million. The package of measures aims to build or improve transport connections and connectivity across Europe, with a focus on sustainable transport. The project for the Pythian-Ormenio section envisions upgrading the existing line infrastructure and trackbed, doubling of the track 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. Following the
Tempi crash,
Hellenic Train announced
rail replacement bus's on certain routes across the Greek rail network, starting Wednesday 15th March 2023. In August 2025, the
Greek Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed the creation of a new body,
Greek Railways () to assume responsibility for rail infrastructure, planning, modernisation projects, and rolling stock across
Greece. Previously, these functions were divided among several state-owned entities:
OSE, which managed infrastructure;
ERGOSÉ, responsible for modernisation projects; and
GAIAOSÉ, which owned stations, buildings, and rolling stock. OSE had overseen both infrastructure and operations until its vertical separation in 2005. Rail safety has been identified as a key priority. The merger follows the July approval of a Parliamentary Bill to restructure the national railway system, a direct response to the
Tempi accident of February 2023, in which 43 people died after a head-on collision. ==Facilities==