of rack: where the gradient exceeds 10%, gear wheels on the train engage with toothed rails in the centre of the track. The railway crosses the Vouraikos gorge passing through a long length of tunnels and bridges. The line was scheduled to be electrified, and the electric motors were ordered by the French company Billard. Prior to the arrival of these machines, the plans for electrification of the line had been abandoned, so they were not used. As a rough solution, an electric motor was added which transported a converter to a diesel one, between two wagons. Due to growing debts, the SPAP came under government control between 1939 and 1940. During the Axis occupation of Greece (1941–44), Athens was controlled by German military forces, and the line used for the transport of troops and weapons. During the occupation (and especially during German withdrawal in 1944), the network was severely damaged by both the German army and Greek resistance groups. The track and rolling stock replacement took time following the civil war, with normal service levels resumed around 1948. In 1954 SPAP was nationalized once more. In 1962 the SPAP was amalgamated into SEK. In 1970 OSE became the legal successor to the SEK, taking over responsibility for most of Greece's rail infrastructure. On 1 January 1971 the station, and most of the Greek rail infrastructure, was transferred to the Hellenic Railways Organisation S.A., a state-owned corporation. Freight traffic declined sharply when the state-imposed monopoly of OSE for the transport of agricultural products and fertilisers ended in the early 1990s. Many small stations of the network with little passenger traffic were closed down. Between 2007 and 2009 all the rails and rack sections were replaced, and four new Diesel-electic trains were introduced. In 2009, with the Greek debt crisis unfolding OSE's management was forced to reduce services across the network. Timetables were cut back and routes closed, as the company attempted to reduce overheads. In 2016 to celebrate 120 years of railways in Greece, the Kalavryta station welcomed the mayor of Kalavrita George Lazouras, the philharmonic and trains of three different eras, and the album about the Cog Railway, written by George Nathainas was unveiled that day as part of the celebrations along with a commemorative stamp. In 2017 OSE's passenger transport sector was privatised as TrainOSE, currently, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane infrastructure, including stations, remained