Strymon-Kulata railway

The Strymon-Kulata railway is a 17.5-kilometre-long (10.9 mi) railway line that connects the village of Strymon in Greece with Kulata in Bulgaria. The line unites three villages on opposite sides of the border, Strymon and Promachonas in Serres, Greece, and Kulata in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, and is entrance/exit to the Greek rail network from Bulgaria.

Strymon–Kulata railway
A class 220 Adtranz/Bombardier at Strymon in 2010
Overview
Status	Non-Operational (Replaced by motorbus)
Owner	GAIAOSE
Locale	Greece (Central Macedonia), Bulgaria (Blagoevgrad)
Termini	Strymon 40.6444°N 22.9294°E / 40.6444; 22.9294 Kulata 41.3875°N 23.363889°E / 41.3875; 23.363889
Stations	3
Service
System	Regional (cross border)
Operator(s)	Hellenic Train
History
Opened	(2024-07-17UTC18:57:06)
Technical
Line length	17.5 km (10.9 mi)
Number of tracks	single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	No
Operating speed	100 km/h (60 mph) maximum
Route map to Sofia Kulata Koulatas depot Bulgaria Greece border Promachonas A 25 to Thessaloniki Strymonas to Alexandroupoli

Infrastructure

the line consists of a single 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge line with a total length of 14.5 km (9.0 mi), constructed of old superstructure materials (S33B rails and S33 metal sleepers). The line is posted with a maximum speed of 100 km/h (60 mph) and a maximum axle load of 20.0 t (19.7 long tons; 22.0 short tons). There are two tunnels and five bridges between Strymon and Promachonas, and service is provided to two passenger stations.

Course

The southern terminus of the Strymon–Kulata railway is Strymon on a branch from the Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli line. At Strymon, the line connects with a northbound line along Strymon River Valley to Promachonas, The line consists of a railway of approximately 17.5-kilometre-long (10.9 mi), of which 16.1-kilometre-long (10.0 mi) are located within Greece, with the remaining 1.4-kilometre-long (0.87 mi) located in Bulgaria. The line then joins with the Bulgarian network at Kulata. From Kulata the line continues to Sofia via Bulgariavia.

Main stations

The stations on the Thessaloniki–Bitola railway are:

• Strymonas railway station
• Promachonas railway station
• Kulata railway station

Services

The Strymon - Koulata Railway Line is an international Regional railway line between Greece and Bulgaria.

• Thessaloniki-Sofia Express Thessaloniki–Sofia
• Regional services Kulata–Strymon

(Until further notice, this train is replaced by a 14-kilometre-long (8.7 mi) bus service between Kulata on the Bulgarian side of the Greek border and Strymon on the Greek side is in operation, from where a train continues to Thessaloniki.)

See also

• Chemins de fer Orientaux

Further reading

• Gounaris, Basil C. (1993). Steam over Macedonia, 1870-1912. East European Monographs. ISBN 978-0880332774.