Mount Pilio heritage train blowing its whistle again

Train buffs are in for a treat starting this weekend as a 19th century steam train returns to service on Mount Pilio in central Greece.

Known fondly as ‘Moutzouris’ (‘Sooty’), the pint-sized, four-car train runs on a 600-millimeter narrow gauge railway line – the narrowest track in the world – and reaches speeds of up to 20 kilometers per hour.

Starting this Saturday and running every weekend through the summer season, Moutzouris will be departing from Ano Lechonia at 10 a.m.  and making the return journey from Milies at 3 p.m.

Tickets cost 10 euros one way and 18 euros return. 

The heritage train is part of the Pelio Railway, which was built between 1892 and 1903 and was the biggest public investment project in the area at the time. The train was designed by local engineer Ernesto de Chirico, father of the renowned painter and sculptor Giorgio.