Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways

Athens and Piraeus Railway Company

The line from Piraeus to Thision was inaugurated on 27 February 1869 as a steam train connecting Athens and its port, Piraeus, and was operated by Athens & Piraeus Railway Co (Greek: Σιδηρόδρομος Αθηνών-Πειραιώς or Greek: Σ.Α.Π. Α.Ε.) private company. The project was considered important, so Queen Olga and the Prime Minister Thrasyvoulos Zaimis attended the inauguration ceremony. There were 8 trains in each direction daily and 9 trains in each direction on Sundays.

In 1874 the Athens & Piraeus Railway Company was bought by the Bank of Industrial Credit (Greek: Τράπεζα Βιομηχανικής Πίστεως). Under the new ownership the railway procured additional rolling stock. Soon the line was extended to Omonoia Square with an underground section constructed with the cut-and-cover method.

The line was electrified in 1904 using the 600 V DC, third rail, top contact system by Thomson Houston.

Hellenic Electric Railways Company

In 1926 the SAP S.A. was bought by the Power and Traction Finance Ltd and renamed Ellinikoi Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi (E.I.S., Greek: Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρόμοι or Greek: Ε.Η.Σ., translated as Hellenic Electric Railways). In 1926 the sister company Ilektriki Etaireia Metaforon or H.E.M., also part of Power Group, took over the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge Lavrion Square-Strofyli railway. This line was eventually converted to standard gauge, double track and became an extension of the existing line, reaching Attiki in 1948 and Kifissia in 1958.

Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways

In 1976 E.I.S. was nationalized and renamed Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways S.A. (I.S.A.P).

A merger of ISAP with Athens Metro was dictated by Law 2668 in 1998, however it was postponed indefinitely and the required Presidential Decree was never issued. In January 2011 the Greek Government announced their plans to merge ISAP with Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A. (AMEL), the company which operates Athens Metro lines 2,3, and with Athens Tram S.A. in a single new company.

In March 2011, the Greek Government passed Law 3920 to allow ISAP and Athens Tram to be absorbed by Attiko Metro Operations Company (AMEL). The new company created from the mergers is named STASY (Greek: ΣΤΑΣΥ Α.Ε.) and is a subsidiary of OASA S.A. The merger was officially announced on 10 June 2011.

STASY is based at the former ISAP head offices, near Omonoia Square in Athens. Kostas Vassiliadis, a former chief engineer (1976–1991) and later CEO of ISAP between 1997 and 2000 became chairman and CEO of the merged company until the end of 2012.

Network

ISAP's line connected the port of Piraeus with the northern suburb of Kifissia. As it was originally designed for steam traction, the line runs mostly above ground. However, there are no level crossings. It is built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and is electrified using the 750 V DC, third rail, top contact system, also used by Athens Metro Lines 2 and 3. The two lines (ISAP and Metro Line 2) have a physical connection at Attiki station.

From Piraeus the line runs eastwards to Neo Faliro and then north to Thision. Between Monastiraki and Attiki the line runs underground. At Monastiraki passengers can change to Metro line 3 and at Omonoia and Attiki to Metro line 2. From Attiki the line continues north, following the alignment of the old Lavrion Square-Strofyli railway through Patissia, the suburbs of Nea Ionia, Irakleio, Marousi and terminates at Kifissia. At Neratziotissa passengers can change to the Athens Suburban Railway for Athens International Airport.