00:01Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:01Θεσσαλονίκη, γρήση's 2nd largest city,
00:05used to be notorious for epic traffic jams
00:07and bad air pollution.
00:09In late 2024,
00:11that finally changed
00:13as the city unveiled its first ever metro line
00:16that transformed lives of residents
00:18like Marina R. Yibou.
00:21I personally use it every single day
00:24to go to the city centre.
00:25We save a lot of time.
00:26It's very important also for Thessaloniki people's health.
00:30We feel it in the air that totally has changed.
00:39The main line runs for 10 kilometres,
00:41with 13 stations served by driverless trains.
00:45Fully automated,
00:47it can carry nearly 20,000 passengers per hour
00:50in each direction.
00:53Everything is managed from the single operation control centre,
00:56where the network is monitored in real time.
01:00Operators say that the system is both flexible and safe
01:04and that passengers have grown comfortable
01:06letting computers, not humans, run the trains.
01:11coming for the first time in a train without a driver
01:15comes with some doubts.
01:18But I have to say that the passengers, generally speaking,
01:22react in a very proper and good way.
01:24Now the numbers are raising up a lot month by month.
01:29We would like to show the authorities and the Greek people
01:32that it's feasible and it's very reliable,
01:34it's very safe and it's the future.
01:36But building the metro of the future meant digging through the past.
01:42Thessaloniki's soil is rich in archaeological treasures,
01:45now on display in some stations.
01:48Protecting that heritage came at a price,
01:51mounting delays and growing budget uncertainties.
01:56It took almost 18 years.
02:00But there were great challenges imposed along the way.
02:04We are lucky that we had the constant support of the EU
02:08and the European Investment Bank,
02:11securing a constant and uninterrupted financing for the project.
02:16Overall costs reached 3 billion euros,
02:19partly covered by EU cohesion policy funds
02:22and loans from the European Investment Bank.
02:26The first 13 stations are only the start.
02:30The line is about to be extended to more suburbs,
02:33boosting growth, creating jobs
02:35and bringing visitors to underground museums and galleries,
02:38all on a single metro ticket.
02:41Definitely the Thessaloniki metro has improved the quality of our lives
02:46and of course it has transformed the city into a modern city.
02:51END
Comments