Thessaloniki metro opens

The Greek city of Thessaloniki (once Salonica, population 1M, and the capital of Macedonia region ), the country’s second city, finally inaugurated metro operation on 30 November after a construction period dating back to 1989. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in the city for the ceremony. Originally planned on the basis of using the same technology as London’s Docklands Light Railway, the project was plagued with legal, political and financial difficulties, and emerged in 2018 as an automated small-profile standard-gauge metro with platform doors, built by a Greco-Italian consortium including Italy's AnsaldoBreda, with a budgeted cost of EUR 1.05M. 25% of the funding came from the Greek government and 75% from the EU. The out-turn cost is more like EUR 3bn (including interest payments on EIB and ERDF loans). 

 

14.4km has been built in tunnels, with many delays caused by archeological discoveries, and the 9.5km section opened on 30 November is an west–east line from Neos Sidirodromikos Stathmos (New Railway Station) to Nea Elvetia (the depot access is beyond this station). 320 000 passengers/day are expected, although the completed system will have the capacity to transport 18 000 passengers/hour at 90-second headways. 18 Hitachi Rail Italia four-car trains with 750V dc third-rail electrification provide service. A 4.8km branch from 25 Martiou to Mitra has been built and will open in 2025 as line 2. A further extension to the airport is planned, while a line 3 has been officially announced, as yet without confirmed funding. 

 

The city was served by a first-generation tramway from 1893 to 1957, with a Belgian operator from 1912-1940.