Train and Rail Travel in Macedonia Northern Greece Page 5(see Greece train map)

Amindeo - Florina

One of the first lines built by the 'Chemin de Fer Oriental' in the late 19th century, the purpose of this 37km standard gauge line was to link the present day town of Bitola in FYROM with Thessaloniki, and was the first line built in the former Ottoman province of Macedonia. It passes through hilly country with wheat fields and high mountain cattle pastures, climbs to the station at Klidi, which is the highest point on the OSE standard gauge railway.

Florina (popuation around 15,000) has cold, snow-bound winters, with below-zero temperatures for months and hot summers. It is the gateway to the city of Kastoria and to the Prespa Lakes. The old town was situated on both sides of the Sakoulevas river, and some of its historic houses have been restored, with one of them converted into the Gallery of Modern Art . The Prespa Lakes region was declared a national park in 1971 to protect its rare wildlife, including wolves, bears, and foxes, as well as many birds (egrets, cormorants, crested grebes, pelicans) which live among the reeds along the banks of the smaller lake, 'Mikri Prespa'. More than 1248 types of rare mountain plants have been found in this National Park.

There are rooms in the village of Mikrolimni on the way to Aghios Yermanos and also in the village of Psaradhes on the larger lake. Megali Prespa. For Kastoria, best access is through Kozani, there being few bus connections from Florina. Amindeo to Kozani This last major railway built to serve Greek destinations, is a 60km segment of standard gauge, which heads southward through a broad fertile plain, the beauty of the area marred by the high tension power lines of the huge Ptolemais hydroelectric plant, which provides a huge portion of Greece's electric needs. The town of Ptolemais/Ptolemaidha (pop. About 30,000) has lignite mines which produce low grade coal, sulphuric acid and nitrate fertilizers, with the village of Emborio behind it, from which some old mountain trails lead to Siatista and beyond it to Kozani. These trails were used by fur traders during medieval times; in 1941 Greek troops fled on them from Albania to avoid capture by the Germans. They begin behind the center of the town, beyond the gazebo on the edge of the chestnut forest there. The rail line continues south through the crossroads of Azoto (no stop here) where there is a huge DEH plant (Greek electric company), and on to the village of Komanos, which has a massive power plant. A well in this village is known for its strange black water.

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