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When you think of Greece, ancient ruins and beautiful seaside locations immediately spring to mind. But Greece is also an excellent country when it comes to lost places from the last few decades.

With over 300,000 inhabitants, Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and is home to one of the largest train cemeteries in the world. Spread over several locations in the west of the city and the western outskirts, there are thousands of disused railroad cars to be discovered.

While the Greek national railroad company was completely bloated towards the middle and end of the 20th century, a harsh cost cutting and decimation plan set in with its privatization. Originally intended for sale to scrap metal dealers, many wagons were temporarily parked but never since left their tracks again. Corruption and dirty deals caused the sales to fall through and so the wagons remained in place, where they have been parked that time.

Today there is a colorful mix of different passenger, cargo and tank wagons spread over several parallel side rail tracks, which are no longer used anymore. Trees and bushes have made their way through and grow nowadays between the trains, giving the entire location a mysterious atmosphere. If you fight your way through the undergrowth, you can even go inside the train wagons and feel a touch of travelling through Greece by train in the last century.

While some cargo coaches continue to carry their original freight, the former long-haul passenger wagons are still reflecting the comfort of traveling in the 1960s and 1970s with having their luxurious seats, beds and bars there until now. But you should have in mind that also wind, weather and vandalism have left their marks over the last decades, which is why most of the trains are heavily damaged.

If you think about visiting the place you should have proper shoes and clothing and be extremely careful while being inside the trains. Sharp metal edges and holes in the floors are present everywhere. The best way to reach the main part of the train graveyard is to go there by car (15-20 min drive from the city center or 50-60 min by public transport).

visited in October 2023 by

Matthias