The Thessaloniki Metro project is in its final phase and is scheduled to be completed and put into service by the end of 2023, and its operation will transform the city and significantly improve the daily lives of its residents. This was emphasized by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Karamanlis following his tour of the project’s Control and Operations Center, located in Pylaia.
The minister was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Giorgos Karagiannis, and upon his arrival at the depot, he was greeted by Nikos Tachiaos, Chairman of Attiko Metro S.A., and Nikos Koureta, CEO, Panagiotis Korakitis, General Manager for the contractor, and Christos Panagiotopoulos, Chairman and CEO of Aktor. Representatives of Hitachi, a member of the contractor’s consortium, also participated in the tour.
«Today, we are truly delighted to be here at the depot, at Attiko Metro’s new offices, and at the operations control center. As you’ve seen, test runs have now begun as scheduled. We are in the final phase of a project that—if I may say so—had become the shortest running joke. A project that should have been completed many, many years ago, but never was. »This is a project that will truly transform the city and improve the daily lives of its residents,” Mr. Karamanlis noted.
Noting that from the very first day he took office at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation, «we set a very specific timeline,» Mr. Karamanlis noted that «it is rare to set a timeline for projects that are so complex. We are sticking to it, and now even the most skeptical are realizing that this project is being completed.».
During the tour of the Thessaloniki Metro depot, which covers an area of 1,200 square meters and will employ approximately 350 people, information was provided on how the movement of the 18 driverless trains will be electronically controlled, and it was noted that schedules will be programmed each night and the train will depart on its own in the morning.
Mr. Karamanlis also emphasized that the Thessaloniki Metro depot is one of the most modern in Europe and will be a jewel not only for the city but for all of Greece, reiterating that its completion proves that «we can have both ancient sites and a metro in the city.».
