The ceremony for the commissioning of the Thessaloniki Metro Extension to Kalamaria, which adds five new stations to the Metro network, was held today in Mikra Station.
The ceremony was honored by the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and was also attended by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Dimas, the Alternate Minister of Infrastructure and Transport George Kotsiras, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos, the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Sector of Macedonia and Thrace, Konstantinos Gioulekas, the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Secretary General of Infrastructure Dimitris Anagnopoulos, the Chief Executive Officer of ELLINIKO METRO S.A. Christos Fafoutis, the Chairman and CEO of AKTOR Group of Companies Alexandros Exarchou and the CEO of THEMA S.A. Francesco Rosella.
Τhe Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Dimas stated inter alia: “We are a few months away from celebrating the second anniversary from the day that the Metro arrived in the city and yet, here we are today, making our next big step. Today, we are handing over to the public the Metro extension to Kalamaria. Five new stations are being integrated into the network, changing the lives of thousands more citizens. Kalamaria is directly connected with the city center, establishing and a new reality for the transport system of Thessaloniki”.
Mr. Dimas reminded that the commissioning of the Base Line limited the circulation of vehicles in the city Centre by approximately 15%, in line with CERTH (Center for Research and Technology) data. He also stated that: “The extension to Kalamaria will further increase this positive impact. It is estimated that this extension will serve approximately 60 thousand passengers on a daily basis, while vehicular circulation will be reduced by approximately 12,000 vehicles, entailing lower pollutant emissions”.
Referring to the overall progress made in the last years in Thessaloniki in the field of infrastructure and transport, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport highlighted the great change that has occurred in only 21 months:
“I invite you to look back less than two years from now, 21 months back. Do you remember how things were in Thessaloniki back then? The Thessaloniki Metro Base Line had not yet been commissioned. The works for the Thessaloniki Flyover had not commenced, whilst – dare I say – excessive skepticism and doubt prevailed on whether this project could be implemented.
Transportation services were not provided by the modern, low-emission buses, which are now available and can be used by all our fellow citizens. We had no plans for Pontou Street. No work had been performed regarding the 17 schools through Public-Private Partnership.
Nonetheless, our compass being due planning over the last 7.5 years, we managed to deliver today the extension to Kalamaria to the public. Obviously, a great job has been done by all members of previous cabinets, to say the least”.
The Minister expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for his guidance, as well as to the political leaderships of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, making explicit reference to the Deputy Minister Nikos Tachiaos as well as to the management and the employees of ELLINIKO METRO S.A., the contracting companies AKTOR, Honeywell, Hitachi and THEMA and their personnel for their contribution towards the completion of the project.
Concluding his speech, the Minister referred to the new planning for the further extension of Thessaloniki Metro to the west and stated that the relevant designs have already commenced: “The new planning of the Ministry focuses on prioritizing now the westbound extension. The relevant designs are already under way. However, this process will be carried out in consultation and in agreement with the local community. Our aim is to create a Thessaloniki Metro network that will serve all the citizens and the visitors of the city and that will upgrade the daily lives of all of us”.
The Alternate Minister of Infrastructure and Transport George Kotsiras stated: “A few months away from celebrating the second anniversary from the commissioning of the Metro Base Line, here we are today, celebrating the opening of the Metro Extension to Kalamaria with five new ultra-modern stations that will facilitate the daily transportation needs of thousands of our fellow-citizens, a project that will contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion and environmental pollution, a project that will significantly enhance traffic safety.
The traffic map of Thessaloniki has drastically changed in the last years. For example, the fleet of OASTH was radically renovated through the addition of 206 new buses out of which 50 new electrical articulated buses which were recently delivered and which enter in service in September. The new vehicles in combination with the Metro will ensure better quality of the services provided to the passengers.
Today is the tangible proof that public transport is indeed changing to the benefit of society offering more options, greater safety and a better quality of life”.
The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport pointed out the following: “We chose this station for today’s opening ceremony, since this very station represents the past and the present and since this station will be very soon synonym of big change.
Not shying away from reality is the path to change.
Our government, just like all the successive governments of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, far from hiding the problems, solves the problems.
The handing over of the new branch of Thessaloniki Metro is a major leap not only for Kalamaria but also for the entire urban cluster.
The Metro not only transforms transportation by offering safe, reliable, quality and rapid trips; it also transforms an entire region.
It constitutes a tremendous intervention in terms of spatial planning.
As of today, Kalamaria is an entirely different city.
The completion of the Metro project, which was designed in the past decades and which was unfortunately approached as a joke due to mistakes having at their root cause the excessive intrusion of political dispute into the Metro project, led to the transformation of Thessaloniki into an entirely different city.
As of today, Thessaloniki will be a far more different city, since it has climbed higher in the list of modern European cities.
Make no mistake; I am referring to the Thessaloniki Metro project.
I wish that the completion of the project, as it is handed over today in its entirely, will make everyone wiser, more mature – especially the political class. It has certainly made all of us participating in the current government wiser and more mature.
In the future, anyone trying to turn the projects of the city into a political game should be treated as an outcast.
The policy pursued has a place in the planning phase. Policy can and should judge and be judged in terms of management of public affairs, but in no way can it undermine the expectations of the citizens.
The closing of the chapter of Thessaloniki Metro, as we know it today, sends a deafening message that success requires the sense of responsibility that only political maturity can bring.
Today, we are offering to the citizens of Thessaloniki a true gem underneath the city.
My son, the greatest gift of my life, a heaven-sent gift, an eighteen-year old boy born in Thessaloniki who will be spreading his wings in a few days in order to pursue his studies in different latitudes away from the city that gave birth to him, I want him to hold on to this legacy.
The reason why I am underlining this is because I want the message, the ethos that characterizes the governance of Kyriakos Mitsotakis throughout all these years to pass down to his generation, to the generation of the Greek people, to the generation of the people that will be born in Thessaloniki, to the generation that we want them to believe in this country, to stay in this country, to love its city and take the city’s faith in their hands. We can make it! We are here, staying true to our path!”
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, sector of Macedonia and Thrace, Konstantinos Gioulekas pointed out the following: “Today is an important day for Thessaloniki and especially for Kalamaria. The Metro extension is handed over to our fellow citizens. Another great project that the city has been waiting for so many years now becomes real.
Thessaloniki enters a new chapter. Through the Metro, the extension to Kalamatia, the Flyover and the major infrastructure works currently in progress, the city gradually acquires the infrastructures of a modern European metropolis.
Most significant, however, is that these projects improve the daily lives of our fellow citizens. They reduce travel times, enhance public transport and create new opportunities for development across the whole city.
The city of Thessaloniki is making up for the time lost over the past decades. We still have many challenges ahead of us. The next major step is the extension of the Metro System to the Western Suburbs of the city, where more than 400,000 of our fellow citizens live. Nonetheless, today we can look to the future with confidence and optimism. Thessaloniki is turning a new page and becoming a city that looks ahead to the coming decades.”
Mr. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, highlighted the following: “In November 2024, at the opening of the first line, there was one word on the lips of the citizens of Thessaloniki: “At last”. At last, the city had a Metro system. Today, with the extension to Kalamaria, another brick has been laid, so that the Metro is beginning to form a network. It is expanding across the city, reaching new neighbourhoods, allowing us to see in practice just how much it can transform Thessaloniki.
Five new stations. Almost five kilometers of new underground line. Travel time of only fifteen minutes from Mikra Station to the city Centre. 63,000 passengers daily and 12,000 less vehicles on the road. For Thessaloniki, these figures are of real importance, since the Metro is being built for the people who live here. For our fellow citizens who work, study, raise children and travel from one side of the city to the other on α daily basis.
For many years, the city talked about the infrastructure it lacked. Today, Thessaloniki is beginning to discuss how to expand the infrastructure it has acquired. The next step lies ahead of us: the extension of the Metro System to Western Suburbs of Thessaloniki. In areas where hundreds of thousands of citizens live – young people, workers and families.
As Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, I will also be involved in this endeavor, so that Thessaloniki can make the most of every available European funding opportunity. Besides, the Thessaloniki Metro bears a strong European stamp. More than one billion EURO in European funding has supported its construction and today we can see what this investment means in real life.
The Secretary General for Infrastructure, Dimitris Anagnopoulos pointed out the following: “The Metro extension to Kalamaria is a particularly complex technical project, which required the unification of different contracts and thousands of technical and operational requirements into a unified, safe and fully interoperable system. The completion of the subject project actually expands the range of areas covered by the Metro and changes the map of daily transportations in east Thessaloniki. However, at the same time, it constitutes a part of a wider planning: along with the supplementary project at Pontou street, the Flyover, the upgrading of Egnatia Odos and the other interventions in progress, it formulates a comprehensive infrastructures program for Thessaloniki; a program that enhances connectivity and safety, improves the daily life and creates new development prospects for the city and the wider area”.
The CEO of ELLINIKO METRO S.A., Mr. Christos Fafoutis, stressed the following:
“Apart from the construction-related scope of works, the greatest challenge in technical terms of the extension to Kalamaria was to convert a complex set of independent systems and trains into a unified, coordinated, safe and fully operational Metro system. Following thousands of tests and verifications and the issuance of the necessary certificates, this challenge was met and today the project is delivered to the citizens”.
The Chairman and CEO of AKTOR Group of Companies, Alexandros Exarchou thanked the Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his decisive role in the completion of the project and made the following statement: “We are proud to deliver to the citizens of Thessaloniki the most modern Metro in Europe. Thessaloniki Metro constitutes a characteristic example of how political will can act as a catalyst in order to complete such a major project. I would like to thank all personnel of AKTOR Group of Companies who put their hearts into completing the Metro project, as well as Hitachi company, without which it would have been impossible to finish the Metro project. The Metro extension to Kalamaria will change the lives of thousands of citizens”.
The CEO of THEMA S.A., Mr. Francesco Rossella stated the following: “THEMA S.A. task is clear: to provide from day one a safe, reliable and passenger-oriented mode of transport.
The experience and know-how of ATM and Egis companies constitute THEMA S.A.’s main advantage. Thessaloniki Metro operation is based on an internationally acknowledged know-how and best practices from the field of urban transport. The commencement of operation of the Metro extension constitutes the outcome of many months of systematic preparation, personnel training and operational coordination. The successful trial runs confirmed the readiness of the systems, procedures and groups, confirming the smooth integration of the Extension into the network”.
The ceremony was also attended by: The Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Minister of Rural Development and Food Margaritis Schinas, the Minister of State Akis Skertsos, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanassis Kontogeorgis, the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, responsible for higher education Nikos Papaioannou, the Deputy Minister of Development responsible for Research and Innovation Stavros Kalafatis, the Secretary of the Political Committee of Nea Dimokratia Konstantinos Kyranakis, the MP for Phthiotis and former Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras, the MPs of the First Electoral District of Thessaloniki Dimitris Kouvelas, Stratos Simopoulos and Diamantis Golidakis, as well as the MPs of the Second Electoral District of Thessaloniki Dimitris Vartzopoulos, Theodoros Karaoglou and Fanis Pappas, the Secretary General for Transport Stelios Sakaretsios, the Special Secretary for Hydraulic Works and Buildings Charalampos Mygdalis, the Secretary of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia – Thrace Dimitris Galamatis, the Vice Governor of the Metropolitan Region of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Gioutikas, the Chairman of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE) and Mayor of Ambelokipi – Menemeni Lazaros Kyrizoglou, the Mayor of Kalamaria Ms. Chryssa Arapoglou, the Mayor of Thessaloniki Stelios Angeloudis, as well as Mayors of adjacent and other Municipalities of Thessaloniki and the Chairman of ELLINIKO METRO S.A. Christos Karadimas.
