Veria railway station

The Veria railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Βέροια, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Veria) is the railway station of Veria in Central Macedonia, Greece. The station is located near the center of the settlement, on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway, and is served by both Local and Proastiakos. The station lies some 72 kilometres (45 mi) away from Thessaloniki.^[4]

Βέροια Veria
General information
Location	Veria Imathia Greece
Coordinates	40°19′20″N 22°07′30″E
Owned by	GAIAOSE[1]
Line(s)	Thessaloniki–Bitola railway[2]
Platforms	3 (1 non-regular use)
Tracks	7 (2 in regular use)
Train operators	Hellenic Train
Connections	[2]
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Platform levels	1
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible
Other information
Website	http://www.ose.gr/en/
History
Opened	1894[3]
Electrified	No
Previous names	Karaferye
Services
Preceding station Proastiakos Following station Mesi towards Thessaloniki Line 2 Naoussa towards Florina Preceding station Hellenic Train Following station Xechasmeni towards Thessaloniki Line 2 Naoussa towards Florina
Location Veria Location within Greece

History

Opened in June 1894^[3] as Karaferye railway station (Greek: Σιδηροδρομικός σταθμός Βερτεκόπ, romanized: Sidirodromikós stathmós Vertekop)^[5][6][7] in what was then the Ottoman Empire at the completion of the Société du Chemin de Fer ottoman Salonique-Monastir, a branchline of the Chemins de fer Orientaux^[3] from Thessaloniki to Bitola. During this period Northern Greece and the southern Balkans where still under Ottoman rule, and Veria was known as Karaferye. Veria was annexed by Greece on 18 October 1912 during the First Balkan War. On 17 October 1925 The Greek government purchased the Greek sections of the former Salonica Monastir railway^[8] and the railway became part of the Hellenic State Railways, with the remaining section north of Florina seeded to Yugoslavia. In 1926 the station, along with the settlement, was renamed Veria.^[9] In 1970 OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibilities for most of Greece's rail infrastructure. On 1 January 1971, the station and most of Greek rail infrastructure where transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. Freight traffic declined sharply when the state-imposed monopoly of OSE for the transport of agricultural products and fertilisers ended in the early 1990s. Many small stations of the network with little passenger traffic were closed down. Since 2007, the station is served by the Proastiakos Thessaloniki services to New Railway Station. 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. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane^[10] infrastructure, including stations, remained under the control of OSE. In July 2022, the station began being served by Hellenic Train, the rebranded TranOSE^[11]

Facilities

The station is still housed in the original brick-built station building^[3] with a booking office and waiting rooms. There is no footbridge over the lines, though passengers can walk across the rails; it is not wheelchair accessible.

Services

As of 2020, the station is served on a daily basis by three InterCity trains between Thessaloniki and Florina and 18 Prostiakos terminating at Edessa.^[12] There are no Services to Bitola as the short international connection is now disused, with all international traffic being routed via Idomeni and Gevgelija.

Station Layout

L Ground/Concourse	Customer service	Tickets/Exits
Level L1	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 1	Π2 towards Thessaloniki (Mesi) ←
	Island platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 2	Π2 towards Florina (Naoussa) →
	Platform 3	In non-regular use
	Island platform, doors on the right/left

References

1. "Home". gaiaose.com.
2. "OSE - 2017 Network Statement Annexes".
3. "Railway Network: Railway station Veria". gaiaose.com.
4. "Visiting Veria, Greece's Beautiful Historical Town - Greek City Times".
5. Veroia railway station
6. History of Veria Municipality of Veria
7. Ménage, V. L. (1978). "Karaferye". In van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Bosworth, C. E. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume IV: Iran–Kha. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 600–601. OCLC 758278456.
8. Le Journal des finances, 15 janvier 1926 (in French)
9. Name changes of settlements in Greece
10. "It's a new day for TRAINOSE as FS acquires the entirety of the company's shares". ypodomes.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
11. "TrainOSE renamed Hellenic Train, eyes expansion". 2022-07-02.
12. "2014/15 schedule Thessaloniki–Edessa–Florina" (PDF). TrainOSE. Retrieved 1 March 2015.