The Greek railway is changing capital, trying to leave behind the pathologies and dysfunctions of the past.

The government’s goal is to create a modern, fast, comfortable and safe railway network in full interoperability with the corresponding European networks.

In this direction, the competent Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras presented to the cabinet the radical transformation of the Greek railway with the creation of the new OSE, “Railways of Greece” and the strategic development and investment plan.

With his statement to APE-MPE, Mr. Staikouras points out the urgent need to make the Greek railway a modern fast and safe means of transport, but also a sustainable and vital arm of the Trans-European Transport Network in South-Eastern Europe.

“The Hellenic Railways, the new national railway body of our country, arises through the unification of OSE, ERGOSE, GAIA OSE. It is created to deal with chronic pathologies, to speed up the modernization of infrastructure and services in the national network, but also to strengthen the extroversion of Greek railways, which are entering a new era. With a solid investment plan, the restructuring of the Greek railway is implemented based on the best international practices, with the aim of ensuring a modern, fast and absolutely safe railway network, in full interoperability with the corresponding European networks”, he emphasizes.
And he points out “In this context, we are prioritizing risk management issues, equipping the Greek railway with the most modern train traffic management safety systems, while integrating the reorganization of the OSE into the Recovery and Resilience Fund (TAA). We are putting the Greek railway on European tracks, with additional know-how, personnel, systems and outward investments to upgrade the infrastructure and the network, utilizing European and national resources. We are working systematically, responsibly and efficiently so that the Greek Railways not only become a vital part of citizens’ movements again, but a viable and vital arm of the Trans-European Transport Network in Southeast Europe”.

Railways of Greece

The new OSE, “Railways of Greece”, represents the new era of the railway, having to overcome the image of a troubled organization culminating in the Tempe accident. It will integrate ERGOSE and the section of GAIAOSE that deals with rolling stock. The full operation of the new railway entity is expected by the end of 2025, when it will operate with the existing staff of the three companies.

At the same time, its staffing is expected to be significantly strengthened with carefully selected additional new staff that will exceed 600 people and with qualifications that will meet the requirements of the new jobs that will be defined. The first group of recruits is expected to be completed within 2024, while the rest of the staffing reinforcement will proceed in stages, until the middle of 2025, also based on the staffing requirements that will be determined by the Business Plan of the new entity. The management support of the new company will be entrusted to a private company of known experience, in order for it to be organized from the beginning based on the most modern international standards. The technical management consultant of the New OSE will be selected through an international competition and will contribute expertise and specialized senior executives. He will undertake on a daily basis, all of the Company’s operational tasks, as well as the more specific responsibility of operating critical operational sectors for a period of at least three years, proportionally applying international experiences adopted in the past by respective railway organizations.

The new framework comes to solve the long-standing problems of the railway as the operation of the three companies involved in a railway project to date, with multiple common responsibilities and interfaces, parallel, conflicting and/or complementary responsibilities, results in the impossibility of unified strategic planning, coordination , development, maintenance, management and full control of the railway network, with the consequences of delaying the implementation of projects, and the possibility of losing valuable resources (human and financial). Also, there is a significant overall burden on the State Budget from the multiplicity of personnel with corresponding qualifications and responsibilities for similar procedures within the three companies.

The new entity will be a Public Limited Company owned by the Greek State, with its board of directors appointed by the Greek Government, in compliance with the principles of transparency and meritocracy, and will be supervised by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The reorganization is funded by the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

New development plan – Investments

The viability of the New OSE depends on the development of a state-of-the-art, absolutely secure and fully interoperable high-speed network, emphasizing freight transport, recognizing the country’s position in the E.U. while maintenance of the network is a self-evident condition for ensuring sustainability.

The investment plan, totaling approximately 12 billion euros for the next 20 years, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, is as follows:
The immediate horizon is approximately 530 million euros, in 5 years investments of 2.75 billion euros are planned, in 10 years 1.4 billion euros and in 20 years investments that will exceed 7 billion euros.

Immediate priority until 2026 is network restoration from Daniel disasters in Central Greece.

In the short-term program (until 2029) are projects already included in financial frameworks, projects to be included in Transport 2021-2027 and CEF2 (Connecting Europe Facility), projects to find financing.

The medium-term program (up to 2034, amounting to 1.4 billion) includes projects to upgrade Eastern Egnatia, the Athens Bypass (Ikonio – Sphinga), connection projects with ports and B.I.E., projects to upgrade Western Egnatia.

The long-term program (until 2044) includes new West Egnatia Projects (Kalambaka – Igoumenitsa & Kalambaka – Kozani) and East Egnatia (Thes/ki – N.Karvali), the upgrade of the network of Western Macedonia and the Peloponnese network, new projects of Western Greece.

The chronological order of the projects in detail

The €529 million integrated projects that have funding and are proceeding immediately include:

  • Final rehabilitation of Thessaly (Recovery Fund) with 180 million euros
  • Thessaloniki-Eidomeni signaling (“Phasing” between YMEPERAA 2014-2020 and METAFORES 2021-2027) with 27 million euros
  • Nea Karvali – Toxotes (CEF1) with 212 million euros
  • Suburban West Attica (Recovery Fund) with 110 million euros

In the second list are the €1.39 billion projects to be financed by CEF II (the Connecting Europe programme). These are:

  • SKA – Oinoi with 240 million euros
  • Liosia – Corinth (Upgrading) with 70 million euros
  • Thessaloniki – Promakhonas (Upgrading) with 90 million euros
  • Thessaloniki – Promahonas (Electrokinesis) with 75 million euros
  • Alexandroupolis – Ormenio with 480 million euros and financing of 341 million euros
  • Alexandroupolis – Ormenio with 295 million euros and financing of 214 million euros
  • Rio – Patras with 477 million euros and financing of 366 million euros.

In the third list are the five-year programming projects amounting to approximately 650 million euros. These are:

  • Railway connection of the 6th pier with the national network (E.P.METAFORES 2021-2027) with 35 million euros
  • West Thessaloniki Suburban (E.P.METAFORES 2021-2027) with 20 million euros
  • Extension of suburban railway and connection to the port of Lavrio (E.P.METAFORES 2021-2027) with 391 million euros
  • Installation of electrification and signaling with ETCS Level 1 and line upgrade in the Quarry section
  • VIPE – S.S. Volos. Project included in YMPERAA 2014-2020. It is listed as a project in “TRANSPORTS” 2021-2027 but due to “DANIEL” the process is not done yet
  • Palaiofarsalos – Kalambaka: Installation of electrification and signaling with ETCS Level 1 and construction of a bypass line on S.S. Sofadon. Project included in YMPERAA 2014-2020. It is listed as a project in “TRANSPORTS” 2021-2027 but due to “DANIEL” the process is not done yet
  • Strymonas- Alexandroupolis Iconium (Under investigation)

Medium and long-term projects

In the next priorities come the projects with ten-year and twenty-year planning. Decade projects include major projects such as:

  • Eastern Egnatia: Strymonas – Alexandroupoli Lines – Under investigation
  • Eastern Egnatia: Strymonas – Alexandroupoli, Variation Iasmos – Polyanthos with 110 million euros – Under investigation
  • Western Macedonia: Platy – Florina, with 50 million euros – Under investigation
  • Athens bypass: Iconium – Sphinx with 700 million euros – Under investigation
  • Port Connections: Suburban extension and connection to the port of Rafina with 310 million euros – Under investigation

Finally, the long-term planning of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport includes very large projects that expand the country’s national railway network. The projects are:

  • Suburban Patras: Patra – Pyrgos with 200 million euros – Under investigation
  • Western Egnatia: Kalambaka – Igoumenitsa with 1.55 billion euros – Under investigation
  • Western Egnatia: Kalambaka – Kozani with 550 million euros – Under investigation
  • New Eastern Egnatia: Thessaloniki – N. Karvali with 1.5 billion euros – Under investigation
  • Western Macedonia: Network Upgrade with 2 billion euros – Under investigation
  • Peloponnese: Network Upgrade with 1.5 billion euros – Under investigation