Major railway project to be launched in Greece

According to the Greek Railways Organization (OSE), a series of new railway projects will be auctioned until 2020 in Greece.

Railway infrastructure will be in the spotlight in the fore-coming years in Greece as major networks need to be upgraded. Recently, TRAINOSE (the unique railway company that operates all passenger and freight trains on OSE lines) announced the first electric railways that will travel from Athens to Thessaloniki in under four hours.

The new projects will be realized at a cost of €850 million ($946 million) and ERGOSE company, a subsidiary of OSE founded in 1996, is currently carrying out studies and securing funds. The plan aims to upgrade and complete a major corridor in Greece, known as PATHE/P, which links the cities of Patra, Athens, Thessaloniki and the village of Promachonas. The studies will be completed by mid-2020 and the auctions will then initiate.

Some projects will be funded by NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework). Those include two new constructions northern of Athens: an underground crossing in Aghios Stephanos station and an 800-meter railway tunnel in Menidi. The studies for those works have been completed and the auction will initiate at a price of €50 million ($55,7million). Moreover, new studies to upgrade another railway section north of Athens will be carried out and the project will be auctioned given that it will be approved by NSRF. Finally, another study is currently being conducted in the Thessaloniki-Promachonas railway section in Central Macedonia. The project suggests the installation of electrification on the section and will cost about €120 million ($133,6 million).

The implementation of upgrades on the current railway network of Greece is crucial. Not only time traveling will be reduced but also the network will be linked to Bulgaria's already electrified railway and Trans-European Axis 7. Therefore, importing and exporting goods will be facilitated.

Source: Ypodomes.com, Greekreporter.com