00:01Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city,
00:05used to be notorious for epic traffic jams and bad air pollution.
00:09In late 2024, that finally changed
00:13as the city unveiled its first-ever metro line
00:16that transformed lives of residents like Marina R. Yibou.
00:21I personally use it every single day to 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 it totally has changed.
00:39The main line runs for 10 kilometres,
00:41with 13 stations served by driverless trains.
00:45Fully automated, it can carry nearly 20,000 passengers per hour in 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 letting computers, not humans, run the trains.
01:12coming for the first time in a train without a driver comes with some doubts.
01:18But I have to say that the passengers, generally speaking, react in a very proper and good way.
01:24Now the numbers are raising up a lot month by month.
01:28We would like to show the authorities and the Greek people that it's feasible,
01:33and it's very reliable, and it's very safe, and it's the future.
01:37But 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, mounting delays, and growing budget uncertainties.
01:56It took almost 18 years, but there were great challenges imposed along the way.
02:04We are lucky that we had the constant support of the EU and the European Investment Bank,
02:11securing a constant and uninterrupted financing for the project.
02:16Overall costs reached 3 billion euros, partly 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, boosting growth, creating jobs,
02:35and bringing visitors to underground museums and galleries, all 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.
02:51There is no coastal breeze from the hemisphere,
02:54in the middle of our lives,
02:57the Sztина 17 couldn't perceive property�iler,
Comments