The station was opened in 1874, two years after the line from
Alexandroupoli (then
Dedeagac) to
Istanbul via
Edirne was completed. Built by the
Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO), from Istanbul to
Vienna. The railway reached Ftelia in 1873, when the line from Istanbul to
Edirne and Bulgaria was opened. When the railway was built it was all within the
Ottoman Empire. Feres (Ottoman: Feretzik) was one of the stations on this line. During World War I, the railway was an important link as the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary were all
Central Allies. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, 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 Peplos railway station, which 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 Ormenio. 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 of Greece's rail infrastructure. In the 1990s, OSE introduced the InterCity service to the
Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad line Which reduced travel times across the whole line. 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 government-run entity attempted to reduce overheads. Services from Feres to Alexandroupoli were cut back to three trains a day, reducing the reliability of services and passenger numbers. With passenger footfall in sharp decline. On 11 February 2011, all cross-border routes were closed, and international services (to Istanbul, Sofia, etc.) were ended. Thus, only two routes now connect Feres with Thessaloniki and Athens (and those with a connection to Alex / Polis), while route time increased as the network was "upgraded". Services to/from
Ormenio were replaced by bus. In 2014
TrainOSE replaced services to/from
Dikaia with buses 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 July 2022, the station began being served by
Hellenic Train, the rebranded TrainOSE. 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==