Europe has another new metro system! In Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, the opening of the first line of the new, largely automated metro was celebrated today, 30 November 2024. Prime Minister Mitsotakis took part in the inaugural trip.
The first line is 9.6 kilometres long, runs exclusively underground and is driverless. For this reason, all stops are equipped with platform doors that remain closed until a train arrives and stops. Even if this is occasionally dispensed with in new systems at other locations, even with automatic operation – the Nuremberg metro is an example here – the Greeks are nevertheless following the prevailing trend for safety reasons.
Of course, this doesn’t stop the first passengers from taking a selfie with their mobile phones in front of the new metro, which is largely hidden behind glass panes on the platform – the residents are visibly proud of their new means of transport. After all, they had to wait long enough to finally be able to travel on it: Since the closure of the electric tram 67 years ago, local public transport here in the north of Greece has only been available in the form of buses on often congested roads. The steady increase in the number of city residents has seen the population grow from around 290,000 in 1950 to 825,000 today (1.03 million including the surrounding area).
After first plan more than 100 years ago, the first more concrete plans to build an underground railway were already being considered in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until around 30 years later that the project really moved forward. In 1999, a consortium including Bombardier was to begin construction of the first automatic lines, but after lengthy discussions, this contract was cancelled four years later without any real work having begun. Following the renewed decision to build the system in its current form, the construction contracts were awarded to a Greek-Italian consortium in 2006, while Helleniko Metro S.A. also commissioned AnsaldoBreda to supply automatic metro trains. AnsaldoBreda’s successor, Hitachi Rail Italy, supplied 24 four-car, 50-metre-long trains. A further 15 have been contractually agreed for future extensions.
Construction progress seemed to be endless, with repeated interruptions, whether due to geological or archaeological restrictions underground or the precarious financial situation of the all state, the regional administration and the municipality for many years. And the approval process up to the commissioning of the new, fully automated system also took time. But hopefully all this will soon be forgotten, the new metro is in operation and can hopefully convince many Thessaloniki residents of the qualities of modern rail transport in the short peeps of time. Very low fares during the first months should also incentivize the use of the me Distel. 250,000 passengers per day are expected in the mid term. Every 2 to 5 minutes during the day, a train comes on the first new line from the main railway station to Nea Elvetia via a total of 13 stations, thus offering a sensible alternative to the overflowing car traffic. A branch line with five more stops to Kalamaria (Micra) is under construction. Further extensions envisage a circular line from the centre with three branches in the future.
The approved total project budget amounts to 1.534 billion euros (excluding VAT), of which 40% is financed by the EU and 48% by the European Investment Bank (EIB). A consortium consisting of Egis and ATM Milan is responsible for operation and maintenance.
The Thessaloniki metro is only the second in the country; the capital Athens has an electrified suburban railway since 1904, which was gradually extended and converted into a fully-fledged metro system and currently has 3 lines. Here, too, the expansion of the network is going on – albeit slowly – including the construction of a fourth line, which began in 2021.
Original version from 30 November 2024, updated:
30.12.2024
