The purpose of this study is to rescue from oblivion the history of the railroad line, 0,60 m width, which would connects Thessaloniki with the high plains of Sofia, across the valley that contains the lakes of Saint Va- silios and Volvi in order to satisfy the needs created during World War I. After the War was over, a part of the line, which had been constructed, from Sarakli to Stavros, continued to be in service for the benefit of people of the area, until August 1947. It was eventually dismantled because of its big operational deficits. Unfortunately the existence of this line failed to cause the begining for a railroad evolution in the area. The construction of a normal-width line, through the same natural passage, which began in 1936, wasn’t finally completed because of World War II.The plan for such a construction now appears on the long-term program of O.S.E.In our efforts to collect the required information, we were considerably helped by Mr. P. Mougridis, former engineer of O.S.E. and Mr. N. Kanakis, administrative official of O.S.E., to whom both we express our gratitude.We also express our deep regards to O.S.E. engineer Mr. J. Tziolas for his continuing help and cooperation.
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