Messinian Association of the Friends of the
Railway
Municipal Railway Park of Kalamata
PO Box 68, 24100 Kalamata, Hellas
The Messinian Association of the Friends of the Railway was
established in January 1996 by people who did not have any professional relationship
with the railway, but were full of love and fondness for it.
Its main goals are to inspire the the love and interest of the people of Messinia
for the Railway and to be a core for demanding the badly needed upgrade of
the Peloponnese Railways. The railway network on the Peloponnese is the most
problematic one in the whole Hellas, due to the lack of funds for more than
three decades.
Among others goals, we have the re-opening of abandoned between Kalamata and
Messini and the rescheduling of the abolished Kalamata - Diavolitsi and Kalamata
- Kyparissia trains. Also we want the scheduling of a train to the Technological
Educational Institute of Kalamata, which has thousands of students.
The condition that exists today in the Peloponnese Railways has created a
feeling of pessimism, to the people, for its future. But we have the strong
belief that with a moderate upgrade, generous time savings can be achieved,
thus attracting more passengers and it will be possible to have more frequent
schedules.
Some of us have overseen the fact that the railway offers significant advantages
over others means off transportation. These advantages are increased safety,
large transport capacity, speed by providing its upgrade and increased comfort
throughout the journey (bistros, restaurant cars, capability of sleep, wc's
etc.)
But its most important advantage is that it is friendly to the environment
and does not consume much energy.
It is worth noting that some standard gauge networks of Europe, Japan and
Korea have achieved maximum speeds of up to 300kph, while on meter gauge networks
of Japan, Australia and South Africa regular speeds of 160kph are realized.
Another goal of our Association is the preservation of railway items with
historical value. Just recently we acquired four old wagons of the Peloponnese
railways that were going to be scrapped from the Hellenic State Railways and
have began with the restoration works.
Here it is worth noting that there is an important collection of railway material
in the Municipal Railway Park of Kalamata and we are deeply concerned about
its general appearance.
Unfortunately, if you take a walk in the park, you will see that this material
(locomotives and wagons) is in bad condition due to the lack of repairs and
the lack of protection.
We all invite you to visit us in our club, which is situated in a wagon in
front of the building of the old railway station, or to the first floor of
the old station. We are there every Wednesday evening. So come and talk about
the matters that ponder us, the future of the railway network and the current
situation of the park.
With the train you travel
you are not transported...