After decades of delays, trains are finally running on Thessaloniki’s new metro system.
Work started on the Greek city’s new underground public transport system 22 years ago and the project has been marred with delays and disruption. Much of it stemmed from the fact that the project turned into one of the biggest excavations in the country, as metro building works began unearthing ancient treasures and incredible ruins, from coins to entire buildings. Bigger discoveries included a Roman thoroughfare and ancient Greek burial sites.
Stations had to be redesigned and train lines dug deeper into the earth to avoid disrupting finds, while the project faced push back from archaeologists, who were concerned about the damage being done to the history below the city’s surface.
The end result is a mix of mega modern – the metro has driverless trains – and historical, with ‘archeo-stations’ displaying some of the 300,000+ treasures that date back more than 2,000 years. Some of the larger archaeological sites are also visible for metro-users to spot on their commutes.
Though in many ways epic in scale (and certainly time frame), the trainline initially only runs along 13 stops, covering just 10km. A second line is set to open in 2025 and further extensions are planned in the coming years.
The metro was originally supposed to open in 2012 – a seriously long time to be waiting for a train, right?
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