The Thessaloniki Metro Project extension to Kalamaria with a total budget of 628 million Euro was incorporated in the Operational Programme entitled “Environment and Sustainable Development” of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change. The amount co-funded by the Cohesion Fund rises to 400 million EURO.
This Project is related to the eastward extension of the main line of Thessaloniki Metro Base Project which is currently under construction and, when completed, 9.6 km of line and 13 new stations shall be delivered to the public, i.e. from PATRIKIOU station up to the south-east edge of Kalamaria Municipality.
The line shall be 4.8 km-long, with 5 new stations (NOMARCHIA, KALAMARIA, ARETSOU, NEA KRINI, MICRA). In particular, two tunnels are foreseen to be constructed for the major part of the Project, while the stations are foreseen to be constructed using the cut-and-cover method. In addition to the civil works, all necessary special E/M systems shall be installed in order to render the Project fully functional. These E/M systems include, among others, the automatic train operation (ATO) and automatic train supervision (ATS) systems, since the system shall operate with driverless trains.
Upon its completion, the Metro extension to Kalamaria is estimated to serve approximately 87,000 new passengers on a daily basis, while an additional population of approximately 91,000 people shall gain access to fixed route public transport modes.
As a consequence of the reduced trips by privately owned vehicles due to the construction of the Project and in addition to the other apparent benefits (reduced trip time, more parking spaces, reduced number of accidents etc.), there will also be a reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 8.2 thousand tons of CO2 on a yearly basis.
Finally, it is estimated that approximately 1,040 new jobs shall be created during the construction of the Project, as well as 100 new permanent jobs during operation.
In this respect, Mr. George Papakonstantinou, Minister of PEKA, made the following statement:
“The incorporation of the Thessaloniki Metro extension Project to Kalamaria in the Operational Programme entitled “Environment and Sustainable Development” is an important fact. With the completion of this Project, the quality of life of Thessaloniki residents is significantly improved, the traffic conditions in the city are drastically alleviated, and the environmental and atmospheric pollution is significantly diminished. We believe that this Project shall progress at the pace required in order to absorb the funds, and the citizens of Thessaloniki will soon enjoy the benefits of using such a major and significant Project”.
The Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Mr. Yiannis Magriotis made the following statement:
“We managed to accelerate the administrative and technical procedures, as well as the relevant designs to make the Project mature and, thus, it is now possible to go into Phase 2 of the tender procedure. As we announced at the beginning of 2012, the bidders will be invited in a few days to pick up the tender documents and submit their offers. We are currently working at an intensive pace to complete the designs, enabling us to put into tender by 2013 the new line from Dimokratias square through Langada street up to Efkarpia and Hospitals. ATTIKO METRO S.A., in close co-operation with the local Authorities, is now finalizing the alignment of the two other Lines. The first Line runs from the New Railway Station through Xirokrini, Ampelokipi, Menemeni, Evosmos and Kordelio. The second Line runs from Panepistimio through Toumba, Charilaou and Nea Elvetia. Finally, another extension is currently under design involving a Fixed Track Mode running from Micra to Makedonia Airport”.
