More than three years after Greece was severed from the European passenger rail network, Greek national train operator Trainose restored international services from Thessaloniki to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia on May 10.

One daytime train per day now links Thessaloniki with Sofia with a journey time of 6h 50min for the northbound trip. The Hellas Express service from Thessaloniki to Skopje and Belgrade runs overnight with couchette and sleeping accommodation, completing the 730km trip in 12h 41min.

Trainose suspended all cross-border services on February 11 2011 during Greece’s crippling economic crisis.

Source: http://www.railjournal.com/ , 12 May 2014