Rail transport in Greece

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Rail transport in Greece
ETR 470 in the Hellenic Train livery
Operation
Infrastructure company	Hellenic Railways Organisation, Gaiose
Major operators	Hellenic Train[1] PEARL [1] Rail Cargo Logistics Goldair Grup Feroviar Român Hellas
Statistics
Ridership	19,599,000 (2019)[2]
Passenger km	1.252 billion (2019)[2]
Freight	538 million tonne-km
System length
Total	2,240 kilometres (1,390 mi)[3]
Double track	524 km (326 mi)[3]
Electrified	532 km (331 mi)[3]
Track gauge
Main	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge	787 km (489.0 mi)
750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	22.3 km (13.9 mi)[4]
600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)	15 km (9.3 mi)[4]
Electrification
Main	25 kV 50 Hz
Features
Longest tunnel	Kallidromo Tunnel 9.6 km (5.97 mi)
Highest elevation	Kalogeriko
at	814 metres (2,671 ft)
Map

Rail transport in Greece has a history which began in 1869, with the completion of the then Athens & Piraeus Railway. From the 1880s to the 1920s, the majority of the network was built, reaching its heyday in 1940. From the 1950s onward, the railway system entered a period of decline, culminating in the service cuts of 2011. Ever since the 1990s, the network has been steadily modernized, but still remains smaller than its peak length. The operation of the Greek railway network is split between the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), which owns and maintains the rail infrastructure; GAIAOSE, which owns the building infrastructure (including stations) and the former OSE rolling stock, Hellenic Train; and other private companies that run the trains on the network. Greece is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Greece is 73.