Katakolon to Olympia train information 2016

We we will be at Katakolon on August 2nd 12 pm to 6 pm and wondering if the trains are still running and where I can find details on schedules and cost. Lot of information I found using search and Google doesn't show recent experiences. Only several years old information.

Thank you

We were there in early July. I tried to find train info too and couldn't verify that it was running. We ended up taking the ship's bus (we were on Costa) at 14 euros/person to get to the ruins. The time there was longer than what had been "advertised" and since we had to tender, being on a ship's excursion got us off the ship sooner. Coming back we crossed some railroad tracks on the outskirts of town. They appeared to be overgrown and not currently in us . . . it made me wonder if those were the Olympic Express tracks. Using the ship's bus may have been a few extra euros but it worked well for us.

We´ll also be in Katakolon in October.

I only found a note somewhere (don´t remember where) that the trains might not be running any longer due to the economic situtation in Greece.

The homepage for the train company can be found here:

http://www.trainose.gr/en/

There is also supposed to be a local bus going to Olympia.

I sent email to the railway customer service I found on some site. I hope I will get some response. If not, I will be there in 10 days and will try to find if the train is running. Our group has 18. So, we are thinking to book a private 4 hour mini-bus trip which includes a stop at a Agios Andreas beach after Olympia for 300 Euros for 18 of us.

The train is running as of today. Since I couldn't get in touch with the train company I noticed there is "Museum of Ancient Greek Technology" near the Katakolon train station. I exchanged couple of emails with a gentleman there and he confirmed train is running and the schedules posted on site are right.

Just back from the trip and the train is not only running, it's just a fantastic ride. Super clean with AC and looks very spacious inside with huge windows. The train schedules change based on ships port times. Usually, it leaves 45 minutes after ship docks and arrives back 30 minutes before. It a short walk on waterfront from Port. At the end of waterfront, cross parking lot and you'll see train tracks that lead to small train station that has a cool Cafe. Enjoyed nice Greek Gelato before we got on train.

In Olympia, it stops right where all your buses park to get to Archeological site. About 15 min walk gets you to museum where we bought out tickets. On our way back we grabbed Gyros to go from restaurant near parking lot and enjoyed our food on train.

I took the train on August 9. The train station is about a 10 minute walk from the pier. You can take the main road or walk along the waterfront. Once you see a children's playground you are at the train stop (which is the terminus - the tracks don't seem to go any further).

There was only one departure listed from Katakolon to Olympia at 8:40am. I cannot recall the exact return time but I believe it was 1:00pm (all aboard was 2:30pm, so there was plenty of time to return to the ship).

The fare is EUR10 per adult, and half price for children. Only cash accepted.

The train is nicely air-conditioned and very comfortable. It departed and arrived completely on schedule for us. It is slower than bus or vehicle because the train cannot really travel at very high speed as there can be goats on the tracks, etc. It does NOT beat the bus or ship's tours so don't expect to be ahead of the crowds. For that purpose it is probably advisable to take the first bus in the morning - but they only leave when full. I saw one bus leave at around 8:30am as we were waiting for the train to arrive. The dishonest vendors who sell the bus tickets were a bit of a turnoff - they lie and say that the train tickets are EUR10 EACH WAY when in fact that is the roundtrip price! However, the buses are located immediately as you exit the dock, so they are more convenient.

Note that there are no toilets or other services on the train.

I forgot to ask when purchasing the train tickets if they also sold tickets to the Olympia Archaeological Site and Museum. If they do sell tickets, purchasing them at the train booth while waiting for the train would have been much wiser than what I did (standing 15 minutes in the blistering sun inhaling cigarette smoke in queue to buy tickets at the site's ticket office).

Hope this helps someone!

Thank you all for the information. I am already looking forward to my trip. Still two months to go.

I don't know if I would bother with the train as when we were there two weeks ago and tour operators were offering transportation to ancient Olympia for $10eu return trip just outside the port gate. Ride only no tour.