“Eastern Railway Egnatia” project back to the spotlight

The Thessaloniki-Alexandroupolis-Ormenio railway line is once again in the spotlight. According to what OSE Chairman, Mr. Kostas Spiliopoulos, said during a recent ceremony, this project is one of the big challenges of the new decade.

The so-called “Eastern Egnatia Railway” will, as Mr Spiliopoulos explained, connect the ports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupolis and will have modernized features.

The construction of two new sections is also envisaged; the first will be a coastal route from Thessaloniki to Amfipoli and the new port of Kavala, in Nea Karvali are and the second section, from Nea Karvali port to Toxotes, Xanthi, where it will be meeting with the existing line.

The whole line will be electrified and will be able to support speeds up to 200 km/h. The new line will continue after Alexandroupolis, ending at the northernmost part of the country, in Ormenio, near the border with Bulgaria and Turkey where the line is used mainly for freight services.

The cost of the projects is estimated at 1.25bn euros and will be activated by the new NSRF 2021-2027.

The Chairman also confirmed that in 2021 all works for the signalling systems on Athens-Thessaloniki corridor will be completed allowing the itinerary to reach 3 hours and 30 minutes while he mentioned that the maintenance of the network will be planned through long-term contracts.