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Greek Railways

Hellenic Railways S.A. is a national railway company which owns, maintains and operates all railway infrastructure in Hellenic Republic with the exception of Athens and Thessaloniki Metro lines and Athens tram lines.

The company is exclusively responsible for the growth and maintenance of the railway network and of the rolling stock of the state.

History

Hellenic Railways was established in August 2025 from the merger by the Government of Greece of infrastructure manager Hellenic Railways Organisation, project delivery subsidiary ERGOSE, and property and rolling stock company GAIAOSE. It was established in response to the Tempi train crash.[4][5][6]

Existing conditions the need to establish a new entity (2023)

For many decades, the predecessor of Hellenic Railways, OSE, faced serious financial problems with accumulated debts and extensive bureaucratic inefficiency, while at the same time the lack of progress in project completion made the situation of the Greek railway particularly damaging for all involved parties.[7]

At first, the operational inadequacy was addressed through the fragmentation of OSE’s responsibilities into successive business entities such as ERGOSE and GAIAOSE. However, the economic crisis and the internal administrative stagnation of the new structure did not yield the expected results, leading to further deterioration of the organization’s financial performance, the suspension of many parts of the network, and the decommissioning of a large part of the rolling stock.[8]

In recent years, a series of railway accidents and serious incidents have revealed major deficiencies in modern operating and safety systems, such as signaling, remote control, communications, and traffic monitoring. At the same time, staff reductions, the inability to hire personnel in critical specialties, and the accumulation of external debt rendered the organization unsustainable.[9]

Moreover, the lack of clarity in responsibilities among OSE, ERGOSE, RAS, and other bodies, the failure of coordinated management, as well as repeated warnings from the European Commission regarding insufficient compliance with European railway directives, strengthened the need for institutional reorganization. A decisive factor was the deadly Tempi train crash in 2023, which exposed serious systemic failures in key areas of prevention and control.[8]

Within this framework, the establishment of the company Hellenic Railways Single-Member S.A. came as a necessary response for the radical redesign of the railway sector, with emphasis on safety, flexibility, transparency, and compliance with European standards.[9] The establishment of SE was enacted into law on December 20, 2024, with effect from January 1, 2025.[10][11][12]

Railway management Organisation

The Board of Directors[13] of the newly formed Greek Railways includes:

The new entity assumes control over the state-owned railway infrastructure, while licensed companies continue to operate passenger and freight services on the network.

  • George Ioannou – President[14]
  • Christos Palios – CEO[15]
  • Chrysa (Kristi) Agapitou – Vice President
  • Evangelos Christogiannis – Deputy CEO
  • Athanasios Staveris – Board Member
  • Katerina Demerouti – Board Member
  • Marios Boboulos – Board Member

Railway management network

The Hellenic Railways manage the entirety of the Greek railway infrastructure (lines and facilities), which is made available for use and operation by third-party railway companies (Hellenic Train, Urban Rail Transport, Levante Trains, Goldair Rail, Grup Feroviar Roman Hellas, and PEARL), while they are also responsible for ensuring the integrity of the network. The Greek railway network consists of 2,812.15 kilometers, of which currently less than 1,500 kilometers are available for passenger and freight use.[16][17]

Standard Gauge Railway Axes

The standard-gauge lines constitute the main infrastructure of the country’s railway network and are partially electrified.

References

  1. Ilias Koukos. Tέλος εποχής για τον ΟΣΕ – Παρουσιάστηκε η Διοίκηση της «Σιδηρόδρομοι Ελλάδος Α.Ε.» ERT News, ERT, 30 August 2025, retrieved 28 September 2025^
  2. Lubomir Cech. 3 Greek companies merge to create Greek Railways RAILMARKET.com, 4 September 2025, retrieved 10 November 2025^
  3. Lubomir Cech. 3 Greek companies merge to create Greek Railways RAILMARKET.com, 4 September 2025, retrieved 10 November 2025^
  4. Tempi accident report exposes Greek railway safety failures Railway Gazette International 28 February 2025^
  5. Greek Railways Formed Through Merger of OSE, ERGOSE, and GAIAOSE Railmarket 4 September 2025^
  6. Greek Railways formed in major restructuring International Railway Journal 12 September 2025^
  7. ΟΣΕ: Έξι χρόνια αδιαφορίας insidestory.gr, 2024-10-08, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  8. Αχιλλεας Χεκιμογλου*. Τα φαντάσματα του ΟΣΕ Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ, 2023-03-06, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  9. Τι φταίει για τη διαχρονική αποτυχία του ΟΣΕ www.liberal.gr, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  10. Newsroom. Κατά πλειοψηφία ψηφίστηκε το νομοσχέδιο για τον σιδηρόδρομο Ypodomes.com, 2024-12-20, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  11. vvegiazi. Ψηφίστηκε κατά πλειοψηφία από τη Βουλή το σχ.ν. για την αναδιάρθρωση σιδηροδρομικού τομέα. Τα όσα ειπώθηκαν Metaforespress, 2024-12-20, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  12. Φ.Ε.Κ. - Εθνικό Τυπογραφείο National Printing House, retrieved 2024-12-31^
  13. Lubomir Cech. 3 Greek companies merge to create Greek Railways RAILMARKET.com, 4 September 2025, retrieved 10 November 2025^
  14. Lubomir Cech. 3 Greek companies merge to create Greek Railways RAILMARKET.com, 4 September 2025, retrieved 10 November 2025^
  15. Lubomir Cech. 3 Greek companies merge to create Greek Railways RAILMARKET.com, 4 September 2025, retrieved 10 November 2025^
  16. Δήλωση Δικτύου ΟΣΕ - 2024 Οργανισμός Σιδηροδρόμων Ελλάδος, ΟΣΕ^
  17. Νίκος Καραγιάννης. Υπερταμείο: σύντομα οι πρώτοι διαγωνισμοί για σιδηροδρομικά έργα Ypodomes.com, 2025-06-11, retrieved 2025-06-23^