Greek-Swiss initiative
for the reopening of the historic railway of the Peloponnese: “Trikoupis Railway” – Step 2
On 05 and 06 December 2024, the HELLENIC SOCIETY for Environment and Culture (ELLET), in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in Greece, the Municipality of Nafplio and the support of the Fichti Art Festival, organized the second event of 2024 for the gradual reopening of the historic Trikoupis Railway in the Peloponnese. At the first event in March 2024, 9 institutions had co-signed together with ELLET and witnessed by the Swiss Embassy, a joint declaration of support for the Greek-Swiss initiative.
The topic of the two-day symposium at the historic building of the Vouleutiko in Nafplio was the presentation and discussion of the framework and parameters for the feasibility study and business plan for the first section of the railway line, in the Corinth-Tripoli section. The project coordinator Irini Fresadou, Architect-Engineer, ELLET Board Member, presented the background of the Greek-Swiss initiative based on the successful example of the Albula and Bernina Lines of Rhaetian Railways.
Professor Emeritus of ETH Zurich Bernd Scholl presented, starting his speech in Greek, his joint proposal with the Swiss expert Hans Peter Vetsch with the main pillars for an integrated feasibility study and business plan, in which a competitive process with 3 teams is foreseen in order to reach safe conclusions.
The Regional Governor of Peloponnese Dimitrios Ptochos, the Mayor of Nafplion Dimitrios Orfanos, the Member of the European Parliament Yannis Maniatis, the CEO of OSE Panagiotis Terezakis declared their support and stated that they would look into the possibilities of funding proposed.
The Ambassador of Switzerland, Mr. Stefan Estermann, highlighted the importance of the unique tourist experience that the Trikoupis Train can offer and asked the stakeholders to contribute to the awakening of the “Sleeping Beauty”.
ELLET President Lydia Carras referred to the long Swiss tradition of philhellenism since the time of Eynard and the Swiss citizens. She pointed out that it is economically unacceptable to leave an existing national infrastructure of train lines, whose value was estimated by Professor Bernd Scholl at around 2 billion euros, in disrepair. He suggested the possibility of co-financing the study through crowdfunding in the Peloponnese, a proposal welcomed by all the institutions and associations of the Peloponnese.
Professor Konstantinos Kirittopoulos, on behalf of the NTUA, declared his willingness to cooperate on the project. The journalist Matroni Dikaiakou moderated a very lively and productive discussion with Mayors, citizens and representatives of institutions from Tripoli, Kalamata, Patras, Messini and other cities and settlements of the Peloponnese, such as the Mayor of Megalopolis Kostas Mihopoulos and the General Secretary of the Municipality of Kalamata Panagiota Kouraklis.
The photography exhibition “Voies Silencieuses” by Swiss photographer Charles Weber, which was enjoyed by the participants during the breaks in the proceedings, was sponsored by the Swiss Embassy and curated by the Fichti Art Festival.
The students of the Primary School of Fihtias welcomed the delegates wearing T-shirts with the slogan our Initiative “to whistle the Train in the Peloponnese again” and reminded all of us with their moving presence that this struggle is being fought to ensure the right of the new generation to its cultural heritage and a sustainable future.
See you in 2025 for the third step of our initiative, “until the train whistles again in the Peloponnese!”
We owe warm thanks to: our host Municipality of Nafplion, the hotels Othon, Aion, Allotino and Elena for hosting the participants, our technician Aris Issaris, the photographer Sophia Revithi, the interpreter Matina Chountis, Bampi Antoniadis, Francesco Moretti, the students’ teacher and the headmistress of the Primary School of Fithia, Naya Grilia. A special thanks to the Director of Fichti Art Festival Eleni Tsechekou for her valuable and generous support and sponsorship.
Captions
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Photo_Nafplio 9: Swiss Ambassador Stefan Estermann, ELLET President Lydia Carras and coordinator and ELLET Board Member Irini Fresadou.
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Photo_Nafplio 3: from left, ETH Zurich Professor Bernd Scholl, NTUA Professor George Hadjistelios, Noelle Meier, SwissRail representative, George Anagnostopoulos, NTUA student, Swiss Ambassador Stefan Estermann, University of Patras Professor Vassilis Pappas, NTUA Professor Konstantinos Kirittopoulos and project coordinator and Member D.ELLET coordinator Irini Fresadou.
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Photo_Nafplio 4: in foreground, pupils of the Fichtia Primary School who greeted the delegates wearing T-shirts with the slogan of the Initiative “for the Train to fly again in the Peloponnese”.