This entire route covers 235km/145.7miles of railway, which could be said to include the most significant archaeological sites in all of Greece. Along this line are Nemea, Mycenae, Argos, Tiryns, Nafplio, and Lerna.
Some of the best mountain rail lines in all Europe are to be found in the circumnavigation of Mount Tegea up to the high inland plain of Arcadia at Tripoli. The seven daily trains are semi-expresses, despite the designation in the timetables, three going as far as Nafplio; the other four on to Kalamata, though all of them serve Mycenae and Argos. Tripolis is the major junction for the scattered villages of the mid-Peloponnese, and for bus connections for east west travel; Kalamata, the terminal point, is the gateway to the southern prongs of the Peloponnese, with Sparta-Mystra-Monemvasia to the east; the Mani in the center; and Pylos/Navarino Bay, Methoni, and Koroni in the west, all of them within the prefectures of Messenia and Lakonia. From the port of Kalamata, one can also access the islands of Kythira (the southern most of the Eptanisa, or Ionian islands, which is at some distance from the others to the south, as well as Crete (Kriti), and Githion.
All of the trains on this route run in combination with trains coming from Piraeus and Athens to both Patras and Kalamata or Nafplio, splitting at Corinth, with one branch continuing west to Patras and the other south to Nafplio or Kalamata.
It is recommended that you make reservations for the southbound trains and find out where to board your next train, since being on the wrong train results in a stressful change at Corinth.
Corinth to Nemea This line climbs and winds through a densely wooded valley between Mt. Skiona (700meters) and the Oneia Hills (563meters). Along the way you'll pass the Athikia Station (unmanned) which serves the village of the same name, and where a road goes to the Pass of Agionori with a Venetian castle. The next station is Aghios Vasilios (26km), above which are ruins of a medieval castle and a Bronze age settlement was found in 1921-2 to the east. The country gets more wild after this point; the Nemea-Dervenaki station (31km) is next, the railway crossed here by the old Corinth-Argos road, used by only two buses a day (Argos-Nemea).
The road to modern Nemea (5km) continues uphill from the station, while the road to Dervenakia, is is further along the Argos road after the railway crossing. From this isolated railway station, if you want to get to those towns at an hour outside of the bus schedule, hitching, or the occasional passing taxi are your only options. There's a wine co-operative in Nemea, with wine-tasting. (See Nemea for details about this town and the sanctuary of ancient Nemea). The modern town is 5km/3.1miles from the site, along the same road. You can use to same buses bound for Argos to return to the rail station of Nemea-Dervenakia. Other buses (or a rented car from Nemea) will get you to the Stymphalean Lake, which, according to myth, was the nesting ground of man-eating birds that Iraklis(Hercules) had to quell as one of his Labors. This area can be reached also by local bus from Kiato (on the Patras rail line).
The Peloponnese by Train page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Why the Train, Trains Map, Peloponnese I, Peloponnese II, Central Greece, Thessaly, S. Macedonia, Northern Greece, Thrace, Train Routes, Train History
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