This is currently Greece's finest train. Greek TrainOSE became practically bankrupt and the Italian state railways FS Trenitalia took it over and renamed the company to Hellenic Train. Then Italians slightly renovated old Pendolinos and modified them to work with the Greek AC current. This Pendolino, ETR470 no.01 used to belong to Cisalpino, which was a joint venture of Trenitalia and the Swiss SBB. But when the Swiss got fed up with Italians not fullfilling their promises Cisalpino's trains were divided 50/50 between Trenitalia and SBB. SBB quickly scrapped their ETR470 Pendolinos as unreliable, but Trenitalia modified them so that they can now run both under Italian DC as well as Greek 25 kV AC electricity. This individual one no.01 was Greece's first Pendolino. They are now being used on the Athens to Thessaloniki route, the most important train line in the country.
Picture from Athens Larissa station 7.6.2024 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same Pendolino no.01 as it came to the station.
Picture from Athens Larissa station (now renamed as "Athens station") 7.6.2024 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The Greek TrainOSE class 120. It is based on the EuroSprinter prototype, which was created in Germany by a consortium led by Siemens. Siemens was able to sell these versatile locomotives more or less "as is" to Greece, Spain and Portugal, but not to Germany. Nevertheless it became the beginning of a really widespread locomotive family. The first ones of these machines at the time when they arrived in Greece were fitted with diesel engines creating power for the traction engines and they were only converted to full electric locomotives when installation of catenary wires was complete enough. This train in the picture is the Thessaloniki-Athens express, probably the "finest" train of the country. Yet all of the modern coaches are absolutely covered by graffiti smear.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The same EuroSprinter locomotive, class 120, as in picture above.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Side view of the same EuroSprinter. Compare this one with the locomotives shown in our section of Portuguese EuroSprinter electric locomotives.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Coaches of the same Thessaloniki to Athens express train as pictured above. After all the rioting even the newest and finest coaches look like this. Disgusting.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

To combat the constant graffiti smearing problem TrainOSE is not any longer even trying to clean the smears and repaint the coaches, but instead they are applying new adhesive tape coverings on top of the awful graffities. This is a freshly taped modern coach. Note that the coach windows are NOT covered by the usual perforated taping with holes where passengers could at least partly see out, but this is creating a full "tunnel".
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

And this is what the unemployed do: As soon as a cleanly taped coach appears, the shitty smears are reapplied on top of the tapings. Then yet another layer of taping is applied. Here at least the windows have been scraped clear of the tapes and graffities. Note by the way that the coach is registered to Switzerland and is only rented to Train OSE. The registration numbers are recovered faster than the rest of the coach surface after the ugly smearings. This is just getting incredible. Nobody wants to travel by train anymore if they can avoid it, because the trains are like this.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

All hope is still not gone. This class 120 EuroSprinter or "Hellas Sprinter" as they are often also called is clean and freshly renovated, waiting here nearby the servicing depot at Thessaloniki.
Picture from Thessaloniki 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

One of the class 120 Hellas Sprinters in Dhomokos.
Picture 27.11.2018 by Marek Graff.

...and another one, no. 010 in a closer view.
Picture from Dhomokos 27.11.2018 by Marek Graff.

A five coach German made Siemens Desiro. 20 of them were delivered to Greece and 19 are still - at least in theory - in use. They are from the year 2006. Whereas the Desiros of Germany are two coach diesel trains, the Greek Desiros are five coach electric multiple units intended mainly for suburban traffic around Athens and Thessaloniki.
Picture from Thessaloniki 29.11.2015 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Compared with Slovenian Desiro trains, which also can be long electric multiple units, the Greek variants have a relatively small low floor section. But as these are suburban traffic trains, it is important that they have a low floor part. By the way, note two coaches with almost no graffiti. They are just dirty.
Picture from Thessaloniki 29.11.2015 by Ilkka Siissalo.

A five coaches long Siemens Desiro is really long. In Germany they are only two and also in Slovenia just two or three.
Picture from Thessaloniki 29.11.2015 by Ilkka Siissalo.

Exactly the same Desiro photographed in the same place the next year, about half a year later. What is positive, it has apparently not been smeared more during the time that passed. Negative side though is that it is exactly as dirty if not dirtier and nothing has been fixed or cleaned either. Maybe it has been once washed? On the positive side also: You can see through the windows. This is not self evident at TrainOSE anymore.
Picture from Thessaloniki station 10.6.2016 by Ilkka Siissalo.

The Siemens Desiro trains were nice looking, modern and comfortable - before all the vandalism.
Picture from Athens Larissa station 24.11.2018 by Marek Graff.

It must be admitted that for the Greek trains it has been a very positive thing that the Italians bought OSE and transformed it to Hellenic Train. The same Desiro trains are now once again tidy and clean. And they are also well guarded so that it's now by far more difficult for any vandals to smear them
Picture from Athens Larissa station 7.6.2024 by Ilkka Siissalo.