Athens-Thessaloniki railway corridor to be completed in 2018

Construction works in the Athens-Thessaloniki corridor are going to be completed in 2018, with a double, electrified line, as the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Christos Spirtzis, stated yesterday during an interview.

More particularly, he noted that: “We have a very specific plan. In 2018, Athens-Thessaloniki railway line will be finally completed with a double, electrified track”. Afterwards, it will be the turn of Northern Greece with infrastructure upgrade on the lines to both FYROM and Bulgaria. The Minister also mentioned the initial agreement he has co-signed with Bulgaria aiming to connect all Northern Greece, by rail with a new route, all the way to the ports of the Black Sea.

The latter design refers to the famous “Sea2Sea Project”. Mr. Spirtzis added: “What we can say, is that by February, we will have proceeded with all necessary arrangements in order to materialize this common project. The Greek PM has promoted its support and funding at a very high level within the European Commission. President Juncker expressed his support and announced Romania’s interest to participate in the project”.

Regarding the Greek-Turkish railway connection he said: “The connection between Thessaloniki and Istanbul will take place sometime in 2019, of course the agreement progresses as well as the agreement for a railway line from Thessaloniki to FYROM, Serbia, Belgrade and Hungary”.

Regarding Thessaloniki, Mr. Spirtzis said that “it will recover its lost advantageous position and will become a real and not a, by name, capital of the Balkans, a center of culture and combined transport hub. I believe that the ongoing projects for Thessaloniki Metro, the urban transportation system, the recovery of green spaces assigned for the municipality and the people, really change the face of the city and the face of Northern Greece, in all.”

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

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