Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced immediate interventions in the transport sector from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

As he said, at the beginning of the year, the first electric buses will arrive and citizens will immediately appreciate the change in the quality of transportation.

A total of 250 electric buses will come to Athens and Thessaloniki.

The prime minister also said that in 2024 the Thessaloniki metro will be put into operation.

In his statements, Mr. Mitsotakis said:

“Indeed, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is an absolutely crucial Ministry in the development planning of our country, but a Ministry which, as you said Mr. Minister, also promotes issues of social cohesion, especially in the issues related to mass transport – an issue we have agreed together that we want to prioritize in terms of the actions we launch in the coming months and the coming years.

So, we are not only talking about the implementation, the completion of important infrastructure projects which have already been launched, such as the remaining major road axes: Patras-Pyrgos which is progressing at a fast pace, the E65 which is also expected, its southern part, to be completed within the next few months. Of course the emblematic Northern Road Axis of Crete, where the previous leadership of the Ministry did a very important job of preparation and now it is up to the new leadership to “run”, essentially, the project.

But of course also infrastructure related to mass transport: the Thessaloniki Metro which, as we said, will be operational within 2024the new Line 4 of the Athens Metro, the largest public project currently being implemented in the country, a large open construction site in Athens, which, however, when completed, will completely change the transport map in the capital.

But I want to focus in particular on the direct interventions we make on our buses. There we believe that by the beginning of next year we will have tangible results to show, with the first new 250 electric buses being delivered and running on lines in Athens and Thessaloniki, in the first phase replacing older buses. I think citizens will immediately appreciate the difference in the quality of service provided.

And, of course, the promotion of sustainable mobility, electric mobility, a more environmentally friendly movement, is an action where the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, can do very important things in this field.

Finally, let’s pay special attention to the safety of transportation. Major projects that come from the past concerning the safety of our trains will be completed, as we had promised, within the next months, in order to close this wound which has hurt us so much.

And, of course, the need to invest in the railway of the future, having a sense of the geographical specificity of the country, always with an emphasis on our main line: from Patras to Athens and from Athens to Thessaloniki and to the border.

All this, Mr. Minister, Mrs. and Mr. Deputy Ministers, constitutes a very broad field of interventions. Let me add to these very important irrigation projects which are of such great importance for the viability of our primary sector.

So we will have a lot of work to do in the coming months and the coming years, but I have complete confidence in the leadership of the Department that you will carry out this absolutely critical area of ​​policy for our country exactly as we have planned.