The Athens-Thessaloniki train route will resume its entire service as of December 15,2023, Infrastructure & Transport Minister Christos Staikouras said at the 7th Thessaloniki Summit on Monday.
A segment of the train route had been recently damaged by storm ‘Daniel’ and has since been serviced by bus.
Minister Staikouras said that the railway network from Athens to the country’s northern borders will resume on December 10.
It is the government’s aim to have the entire railway network fully restored by 2025, including remote management systems and signalling, after tenders are announced at the start of 2024, he added.
The total cost of damages to the national railway system by recent extreme weather phenomena amounts to 200 million euros and is covered by the EU Recovery & Resilience Fund.
But temporary repair works are already underway, Staikouras added, at a cost of 14 million euros. When tenders are announced early 2024, the full restoration project will follow.
The Thessaloniki metro will become operational in the second half of 2024, Staikouras noted.
ΝΟΤΕ: Check with Hellenic Train whether the Athens-Thessaloniki route is direct or passengers will be obliged to cover part of it in Central Greece with other means such as buses.
