Past, present and future of railway transportation in Greece
Part of : Αρχείον οικονομικής ιστορίας ; Vol.XII, No.1-2, 2001, pages 237-278
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237-278
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A significant contribution to economic development may be attributed to Greek Railways as evidenced through a historical review from 1869 into eras encompassing the construction of rail network in Macedonia and Thrace during Ottoman rule, the rapid expansion under Trikoupis, the development of the Athens-Piraeus line, the Lavreotikos and Larisaikos lines as well as the Peloponnisos and Thessalia networks. Railways are shown to be an environmentally friendly means of transportation by emitting minimal atmospheric pollution, causing limited disruption of soil morphology, conserving energy, being characterized by low accident probability, exposing passengers to aesthetic routes unavailable to other transport means and possessing important cultural utility. Selected transport and financial information regarding passenger and commercial demand, railway network geography, passenger kilometers, freight ton kilometers show a declining trend for the period 1970 to 1998. Passenger and freight kilometers regressed against time in five year periods prove to be a satisfactory tool for prediction. Finally, through projects subsidized by the Community Supporting Frame II and the Cohesion Fund, it is described how the Greek government has elaborated two Business Plans and now proposes a third 2000-2006 Business Plan to chart the future course of Greek Railways in cooperation with similar European Rail organizations.
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