The prospect of a gradual reactivation of the historic metric gauge railway network of the Peloponnese, which is the longest such network in Europe, dominated a meeting between OSE president Yanos Gramatidis and Swiss ambassador Stefan Estermann.
The network could potentially serve both cultural and tourist routes, as well as local passenger needs, OSE pointed out in its announcement.
What was discussed at the meeting?
Based on the relevant announcement, the Swiss ambassador briefed Gramatidis on the Swiss side’s decision to support the completion of a detailed feasibility study that is already underway and whose elements will be discussed in the context of a subsequent meeting of all involved parties and agencies in Nafplio at the beginning of December 2024.
Gramatidis stressed the importance of reviving the Peloponnesian Railway for passenger, cultural and tourist purposes with the ultimate goal of connecting places of natural beauty and historical interest such as Corinth, Nafplio, Kalamata, Mycenae, Ancient Olympia and so many others perfectly serving Greece’s strategy for a more sustainable, multidimensional and less seasonal tourism.
The OSE president underlined that such a project would contribute to the protection and transmission of a unique cultural heritage as well as the regeneration of the Peloponnesian countryside.
On his part, the Swiss ambassador emphasized that he is determined to invite all the parties involved in a joint effort by offering the Swiss experience of operating metric mountain railway systems and creating attractive tourist programs in order to serve the need for the widest possible promotion of a of the reactivated Peloponnesian Railway.
After the meeting, the president of the OSE informed the regional governor of Western Greece Nektarios Farmakis and the regional governor of Peloponnese Dimitrios Ptochos about subsequent joint coordinated actions related to the above project.
