On 19/10/2011 12:44, Theo Markettos wrote:

In uk.railway Arthur wrote:
And Ireland has actually got a renewed railway network out of it all.
How has, say, Greece got on in the same period?

Greece has got:

Double track electrified main line on about 2/3 of main N-S axis (up to
about 160km/h due to all the mountains) - previously severely speed
restricted twisty single line with no upgrades since 1950s.
Electrified routes in Macedonia
Athens suburban railway network (didn't exist before) and interchanges with
N/S and E/W axis routes
Athens tram
Athens metro extensions, including new link to new airport
Thessaloniki tram

How is the Thessalonki metro coming on these days?

Major renewals of metre gauge network in Pelopponnese and isolated network
near Messolonghi

Haven't they shut the whole lot?

~50% stock renewal
Opening of new Greece/Turkey passenger service

But no international links today? Even Ireland has one rail link to the
evil imperialistic neighbour...

New high speed (as much as the geography will allow) route Athens-Patras
under construction

But of course OSE was haemorraging cash... partly because fares have
historically be heavily state subsidised (the train being a social service
the way that British rural buses are, Greek buses being semi-commercial
operations).

So the short term cost slashing has been to close the entire metre gauge
network (including the bit near Messolonghi that never saw a train)

Quite. They have at least run trains on the Midleton or Limerick-Galway
lines.

leaving
new trains and track to the mercy of metal thieves. Severe service cuts
including all international trains, a number of standard gauge routes
closed.

Ireland has lost Waterford - Rosslare, which is obviously sad but it was
pretty hopeless.

After making the above list, it's struck me how much was achieved despite
the mismanagement that pervades many projects (eg spend 5 years renewing a
section of metre gauge track, and then close it a few months after it
opened).

I'm not sure I'd call that an achievement :-)

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK