“In the transport sector, apparently at the top of the agenda is the safety of travel in all means,” makes clear, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Dimas in an interview with RES-EIA and journalist George Plylia.

As he points out, “the fastest possible, complete restoration of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line by Daniel’s floods, the new institutional framework for the operation of the railways to prevail the private-economic criteria of modern administration, the voting of the new road traffic.”

Especially for the tragic railway crash of the Tempi, he stresses that “regardless of party origin or ideology, I believe that we all want the truth about the tragedy of Tempi. Now, the experts conclude that there was no undeclared. That is genuine.

At the same time, it makes it clear, referring to infrastructure projects that are promoted that “the Greece’s infrastructure map is constantly enriched with the efforts made in recent years by the government and today, many emblematic projects are in mature, which we will pursue within these times”.

Finally, referring to the government’s economic policy notes that “citizens’ income is based and at the same time, we are proceeding with targeted increases in specific categories of public officials, without disturbing the country’s fiscal balance. a better country and not the debts we inherited. ”

Following is the full text of the interview.

Q. What are your priorities at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport?

A. The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, gave me the honor to trust me at a very critical juncture for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, and in this responsibility we will seek to respond with targeting, efficiency and modesty.

This means that we will work with all the services of the Ministry, the stakeholders, the companies, the contractors, the social and economic bodies, in order to achieve tangible results in as soon as possible.

In essence, our goal is to implement an intensive “project management” in the projects in order to achieve the timetables we have set, as well as the goals of the recovery and durability fund.

In the transport sector, apparently at the top of the agenda is the safety of travel in all means. The fastest possible, complete restoration of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line by the Daniel floods, the new institutional framework for the operation of the Railways to prevail the private economic criteria of modern administration, the voting of the new road traffic code and the new operating code are between our new road traffic.

Q. What is the timetable for the implementation of the ongoing major projects and which of them are planned to be completed within the year?

A. The Greece’s infrastructure map is constantly enriched with the efforts made by the government in recent years and today, many flagship projects are in mature stage, the completion of which we will seek within the timetables and in terms of high resilience.

In particular:

On the Patras – Pyrgos Motorway Progress is approaching 75% and will be delivered in part to the traffic by the end of the year.

In the E65, the section has been delivered from Lamia to Kalambaka and now the connection to Egnatia, which is expected to be completed in 2026, has been left.

On the northern road axis of Crete there are construction sites in the Hersonissos – Neapoli and Neapoli – Agios Nikolaos sections and the Contracting of the Chania – Heraklion Department is moving forward.

The new airport in Kasteli has been completed by over 40%.

In Flyover in Thessaloniki, construction progress exceeded 20%.

The Thessaloniki Metro is the extension to Kalamaria in 2025.

On line 4 of the Athens Metro, the opening of the tunnels continues.

In addition to these strategic interventions, across the country, irrigation and flood protection projects are being built for local communities, which support economic activity and enhance flood protection.

The dozens of public buildings, schools, hospitals and judicial mansions, which are now being built throughout Greece by building infrastructure SA, are also of great value to citizens. These are projects of a total budget of more than € 416 million, of which, almost 300 million are infrastructure in education.

Q. As for the railway, what actions do you plan given the prime minister’s commitment to a modern rail in 2027?

A. The goal is to radically change the way the railroad works, an effort that has begun by the present government, but requires intensive effort, patience and deep reforms to succeed.

At the level of organization, the merger between OSE, ERGOSE and GAIAOSE will proceed with the rolling stock. This implies fundamental changes in the way the new organization will be governed, in terms of modern corporate governance. We will further use new technology and digital capabilities for security reasons and for information reasons and of course, staff re -education is needed.

At the same time, at a technical level, a basic condition for the smooth rail traffic on the Athens – Thessaloniki axis is to repair the damage caused to the Network from the natural disaster “Daniel”, at a length of about 100 kilometers, from Domokos to Larissa. It is recalled that in this section, in the autumn of 2023, one line was destroyed, as well as the installations of the signaling and telecommunications systems that had just been installed. In these competitions, the bidders have emerged and the Court of Auditors have already approved the decision to launch projects in April with a timetable for implementation within 15 months.

Q. Where are the ministry’s negotiations with the Hellenic Train? Do we have new modern trains along with the recovery of the network?

A. The launch of new train is an important parameter of the modernization of the network and depends on some parameters. The issue has been raised in HT, the discussion is ongoing and when we are ready we will say more.

Q. What is your comment on the experts that have seen the light of publicity lately?

Regardless of party origin or ideology, I believe that we all want the truth about the tragedy of Tempi. Now, the expertise concludes that there was no undeclared load. This is something that AADE also confirmed when it did the control of the train and also shows the videos, which, the police confirm that they are genuine.

Consequently, when this truth begins and is revealed, we must decide whether we are with elements and scientific knowledge or whether we are with conspiracy theories, which only cause more discomfort in a case that is painful.

Q. What initiatives will you take to improve the level of road safety?

A. Improving the level of road safety is a priority with a national dimension and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has a specific role in this mission. The construction of modern roads, especially in areas where we have mourned many victims on the asphalt, such as in the western Peloponnese and Crete is a key factor in limiting accidents.

At the same time, we are developing other initiatives in cooperation with the relevant Ministries of Citizen Protection and Digital Governance, aimed at compliance with drivers with the rules of CMC, especially in cities, where most incidents are recorded in recent years. One of these actions is the installation of 1,388 traffic cameras in dangerous points with 24 -hour operation.

Violations of the Road Traffic Code will be certified electronically and citizens will be informed by a written message on their mobile phone (SMS) that they are controlled so that they can appeal electronically.

For example, when one violates the red traffic light he will be recorded by the camera and receive the call electronically, a process that we hope to face the culture of impunity that, unfortunately, still exists.

Q. Do you have any thoughts on improving its traffic capital and, above all, Kifissos and Skaramaga?

The number of traffic in the capital in the capital is far exceeding the capacity of the road network and therefore, especially during peak hours, there is a strong congestion on most axes. The problem is multifactorial and in the part of the competence that falls under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport we are first working to improve transport services to limit the use of the car and secondly to the creation of infrastructure that would facilitate traffic. The triple intervention in Aigaleo is a project that can contribute in this direction and is therefore included in the planning of the ministry. As a result, we are looking for a proper combination of targeted projects and increasing the use of MMMs, which will limit traffic, always, and always, with the initiatives of other bodies that can assist in joint efforts, such as supplying the market by the private sector.

Q. The Government is criticizing economic policy on the occasion, recently increases in uniforms. With your experience at the Ministry of Finance, is there room for further reinforcement of income?

A. The government aims to continually improve the standard of living of citizens and to boost their incomes, which have declined sharply during the economic crisis. We must not forget where we were in 2019. Unemployment was at 17.9% and today has fallen to 8.7%. The minimum wage was at 650 euros and today it is 880 euros with a feasible aim of reaching 950 euros by 2027. Also the average salary has increased and by the end of our term of office it will have reached 1,500 euros, and as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, we are at the same time implemented a policy of reductions.

This translates to lower burdens for employees and employers, who will save resources to eventually pay higher salaries.

All of these policies supports the disposable income of the citizens and at the same time, we are proceeding with targeted increases in specific categories of public officials, without disturbing the country’s fiscal balance. We have achieved the fastest duplication of public debt that has ever been recorded in the history of the eurozone, and the value of this performance is that we must leave a better country to future generations rather than the debts we inherited.