Gaps
Filled
Long lagging in rail transport, Greece is seeking to raise rail
utilisation with 14 EU-funded projects that will fill important gaps in
the network. Interest has revived in one ambitious, long-pondered
cross-border transport project with the signing of a memorandum
of understanding in 2017 between the prime ministers of Greece
and Bulgaria.
The Sea2Sea project envisions creating a multimodal freight
corridor through a high-speed rail link between the ports of
northeast Greece and Bulgarian ports on the Black Sea and the
Danube. Romania has also shown interest in the project.
Connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea, the project would
bypass the congested Bosporus and Dardanelles straits of Turkey
and expedite freight shipments into Central Europe. The project
hopes to draw major investors from the Middle East, China, and
Russia.
Proposals are also on the drawing board for the 720 km Egnatia
Railway. Running roughly along the new Egnatia Motorway – a €5.9
billion highway project completed in 2009 – the railway would
extend across northern Greece, from near the Turkish border in the
east to the Italy-facing seaport of Igoumenitsa in the west. The
railway project envisions additional vertical corridors to bordering
Balkan neighbours. Eastern portions of the high-speed line,
connecting the seaports of Thessaloniki, Kavala, and
Alexandroupolis, appear poised to go forward independently,
boosting prospects for realising the Sea2Sea project. Meanwhile,
the Egnatia Motorway will be upgraded with the construction of
nine connecting highways linking it to roadways in Albania, eastern
and western Bulgaria, and Northern Macedonia.
Passenger transport is also receiving attention. In May 2019, the
recently-privatised Trainose launched its high-speed passenger
service, cutting travel times from Athens to Thessaloniki to under
four hours, from roughly six previously. Numerous urban rail
projects are also underway, with substantial funding from the EU to
the tune of €1.1 billion through 2020 and 2021.
Once completed, the Metro currently under construction in
Thessaloniki is expected to serve 315,000 passengers daily. The
project includes a 14.3 km extension from Kalamaria to the city’s
east.
In Athens, six new stations are now being built to serve the capital’s
western suburbs, and the extension of the popular Athens Metro to
Piraeus will connect the Athens International Airport to the Port of
Piraeus, boosting ridership to 132,000 per day.
Tenders are also advancing for Athens Metro Line 4 that will run
through from some of the city’s most densely populated
neighbourhoods, serving a projected 500,000 daily passengers.
Completion of Line 4, with 38.2 km of track and 35 stations, is
expected to take eight years. Attica’s light-rail tram is likewise being
extended along a 5.3 km route between Nea Faliro and Piraeus,
with a daily capacity of 100,000 passengers.