With two lines and new branches, which will cover almost the entire urban complex of Thessaloniki, from Kordelio to the airport and from Ano Evosmos to Toumpa, Charilaou and Pylaia, the city’s Metro is expected to be operational in 2040, with 44 stations in length 48 kilometers long and carrying around 680,000 passengers daily.

In the next steps of the project, the emphasis is placed on the west and north-west of Thessaloniki, while it is anticipated that there will be a wait for a future extension to Thermi, with the prospect that the Metro will eventually reach the fourth generation technology park ThessINTEC in the Tsairia area of ​​Peria.

The above was announced, today, during the presentation of the long-awaited Development Study of the Thessaloniki Metro (MAMTH) in Ampelokipi, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas.

From this report (prepared between 2021 and 2023, it is essentially the first general transport study of the city in the last 25 years and will also function as a tool to raise funding for the projects) it emerged that the areas with the greatest development prospects in urban complex are those of northwest Thessaloniki, where the new Metro projects are being planned as a priority.

The first (basic) line

As the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Nikos Tachiaos, reconfirmed today, the basic line of the Thessaloniki Metro will be completed “without a doubt” in November 2024, while the operation of the extension to Kalamaria will follow in 2025.

An extension of the line to Stavroupoli and to the Papageorgiou and 424 hospitals on the ring road is also planned, with the prospect of eventually reaching the airport (underground and not by surface means, as had been heard from time to time) and to the Tsairia area in Perea, where it is based the ThessINTEC.

The second line

The new, second line specifically delineated by the study, is proposed to have two branches and will be the first one concerning Ano Evosmos. It will reach as far as Harilaou and Pylaia, while an extension to KTEL “Makedonia” and Kordelio is planned.

As Mr. Tahiaos announced, in order to be able to expand the Metro, it may be necessary to build a second station next to the one that already exists at the New Railway Station (NSS). “The first station it will meet (the second line) will be in Ampelokipis, the second in Menemeni, then it will go to Evosmos square, touch the ring road and reach Ano Evosmos and of course we also have our train station next to this line. The second branch of this extension will go to KTEL “Makedonia”, on Eptanisou Street and from there to Kordelio, to cover an area that has a great need for transportation. This is line 2 of the metro,” clarified Mr. Tachiaos.

And Tsimiski “in the chain”

The deputy minister also pointed out that a new (underground, without digging the road) route to Tsimiski will be created, with – possibly – a stop in Aristotelous, after consultation with the archaeological services. Before reaching HANTH, this new route will intersect with the main line at the height of AUTH and from there it will follow the underground route of Agios Dimitrios, Toumba, Charilaou, Higher School of War, Patriarhika Pylaia.

Mr. Tachiaos also pointed out that the presentation of the study is in no way pre-election in nature, since no specific projects are announced, only a design, while he characteristically added: “the biggest problem with the Metro project was that we politicized it. The same is being attempted with other important projects, such as the fly over”.

Time priorities

In more detail, according to the presentations made by the researchers, the first phase of the implementation of the study concerns the first branch of the second (not the main) line of the Metro, which from the New Railway Station (NSS) will be directed towards Ano Evosmos and KTEL “Macedonia” – Kordelio. It is a 10.75 km long section, including the waits to Harilaou-Pylaia, with eight stations and estimated to serve 107,000 passengers per day.

Second in order of priority is the branch of the main line which, starting from the New Railway Station (NSS), will reach the hospitals on the ring road (including following the Neapoli, Terpsithea, Stavroupoli, Polichni, Efkarpia route in between). This extension, 7.29 km long, with six stations, is expected to serve approximately 98,000 passengers per day.

The third, based on time priority, implementation phase of the study plan concerns the part of the second (new) line, which will reach from the New Railway Station to the wider area of ​​Pylaia, carrying approximately 146,000 passengers per day.

The fourth phase of the project includes the construction of the extension to the airport, 8.72 km long, including the waiting areas to Thermi, with five stations, which is expected to serve around 41,000 passengers daily.

The most modern Metro in Europe

The most modern Metro in Europe, which will be able to serve 191,000 passengers daily on its main line, will be acquired by Thessaloniki in just six months from today, as pointed out by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Christos Staikouras, recalling that the means of fixed track of the city will include – among other things – the world’s largest underground archaeological site, integrated into a technical project, which will be located at Venizelos station.

At the same time, he confirmed that the project of the extension to Kalamaria is being completed, which is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2025, with five stations and an estimate to serve 95,000 passengers daily.

“According to estimates, the first period of operation of the Metro and the circulation of 110 electric buses on the streets of Thessaloniki (…), it is possible to shape new transport conditions and, under conditions, lead to a jump in the rate of public transport from 15 % which is currently at 50%. This is a substantial transition to sustainable urban mobility, for a traffic relief in the center of Thessaloniki and for a significant improvement in the quality of life” added Mr. Staikouras.

He summarized by saying that MAMTH’s planning envisages the creation of an integrated metro network with two lines, with a total length, together with the infrastructure under completion, of approximately 48 kilometers, which includes a total of 44 stations and which will have the ability to serve 678 thousand passengers daily , with a significantly lower environmental footprint, significant fiscal benefits and financial savings for citizens in the road network and public works.

“The new western railway connection of the 6th pier of the Thessaloniki Commercial Port with the existing railway line and the development of the Western Suburban Railway of Thessaloniki will transform Thessaloniki into a model of holistic development, into a city more friendly for its residents and visitors, with a strong geopolitical and geostrategic footprint in Southeast Europe” concluded the minister.

For the first time in Greece

Today, the Thessaloniki Metro is in the stage of carrying out dozens of tests daily to check the operation, certify all the systems and license the project, as pointed out by the managing director of ELLINIKO METRO SA, Nikos Kouretas, recalling that “some of them ( the systems) are innovative and applied for the first time in our country and the 8th time in Europe”.

As he said, the study presented today creates the yeast for “the existence of an organized strategic plan of private and public transport for the whole of Thessaloniki, with the strengthening of public transport, which can on the one hand evolve and we can choose scenarios or alternative proposals depending on the needs”. At the same time, it gives “the weapons and arguments that prove the feasibility and viability of any transport infrastructure project in the city, so that the Ministry of Infrastructure and its agencies can secure funding from European resources and programs for the next 20 years” and accelerates the construction of large and smaller projects, simultaneously supporting scientifically and operationally the reorganization of bus routes.

During his greeting at the event, the mayor of Ampelokipi – Menemeni and president of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Lazaros Kyrizoglou, pointed out that for the first time he sees a coherent development plan for all of Thessaloniki and especially its western side, while he added that the An Urban Complex develops equitably, when the development is balanced in its central, western and eastern parts.