New planning for the Greece – Albania railway connection is underway

The Kalambaka-Siatista-Kozani railway line is once again included in the strategic planning of the country. This was stated by -among others- the Deputy Minister of Transport, Giannis Kefalogiannis during his tour in Western Macedonia.

“The government has a clear position on the railway, for us it is a key priority and, especially this year, which is the year of the railway, let me tell you that Western Macedonia is on the map of railway connections”, stressed Mr. Kefalogiannis, while adding that he noted “This route was included in the Strategic planning of the railway networks in 2014 and was assigned under the responsibility of SYRIZA in 2019”.

New design for the Greece-Albania connection

Referring to the issue of the railway connection Greece – Albania, through Florina – Krystallopigi – Pogradec, he stressed that “there is only one sustainability study and that the intention of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and OSE is to consider the best possible economic and technical solution.” He stressed that the route to Pogradec via Florina – Krystallopigi is “the most time-consuming and costly of the other two proposals that have been put on the table.”

“Do we want a project that will be completed in more than 10 years or a project that will be done much earlier?”, Asked Mr. Kefalogiannis, pointing out that at the moment there is nothing final in terms of the route. “We start from scratch and that the study that includes cost issues will show us the best route, which we will then present with OSE and the Region of Western Macedonia to the citizens.”

Mr. Kefalogiannis made a special reference to the issue of waterways, reminding that the government was simplifying the licensing procedures and called on the Municipality of Kastoria, but also the Region of Western Macedonia, “to evaluate their studies for the establishment of waterways, the corresponding funding “for the construction of the necessary infrastructure.

Earlier, the governor, George Kasapidis, had mentioned that the proposals of the Region include four lakes, such as Polyphytos in Kozani, Kastoria, Vegoritida in the area of ​​Amyntaio, Florina and Prespa in the prefecture of Florina for the construction of infrastructure that will contribute to the development of tourism in the region.