Egnatia Railway

Egnatia Railway is a planned railway line between Alexandroupolis and Igoumenitsa in northern Greece. The project is planned to include existing track upgrades as well as new track. The projected cost of this project is €10 billion.[1] [2]

Egnatia Railway
Overview
TypeHigher-speed rail
StatusPlanned
LocaleGreece
TerminiAlexandroupoli
Igoumenitsa
Operation
OwnerOSE
Operator(s)TrainOSE
Technical
Line length565 km (351 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track throughout
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Background

The Egnatia Railway consists of multiple smaller scale projects:

  • the line from Alexandroupolis to Thessaloniki: electrification and installation of advanced signaling and telecommunication systems, wherever necessary, and new routing in selected subsections. This includes a section of new track from Xanthi to Thessaloniki via Kavala (projected to cost €1.25 billion),[3] which will shorten the journey between the two by three hours.[4]
  • Thessaloniki-Kozani: electrification and signaling,
  • Kozani-Krystallopigi: electrification and signaling, construction of new line for the subsection Florina–Krystallopigi,
  • Kozani-Igoumenitsa: new line construction via Ioannina to connect with Igoumenitsa Port.

Planning

In 2019, Hellenic Railways Organisation awarded the contract to build the initial 31.8 km (19.8 mi) section between Xanthi and Kavala at a cost of €250 million.[5]

Costs

The cost is estimated at EUR 10bn but the final cost will be determined when studies completed. The project cost break down:

  • Thessaloniki-Alexandroupolis: €1,8bn (Section Alexandroupolis – Xanthi, €300m, Section Xanthi – Kavala – Thessaloniki, €1,5bn)[6]
  • Thessaloniki-Kozani: €800m
  • Kozani-Igoumenitsa (incl. c) Kozani - Krystallopigi - Florina): €7,4bn

The proposed business model is that of a PPP. The construction and operation of the project will be undertaken by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Sources of revenues include rail exploitation and logistics services revenues.

The funding will be from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), and probably from EIB and EU programmes.

Other projects

A link from Krystallopigi into Albania is also proposed.[7]

See also

References
  1. ‘Egnatia Railway’ European Commission
  2. "Egnatia Railway: Europe`s next mega rail project". Ypodomes. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. "New railway line Thessaloniki-Kavala-Xanthi in northern Greece to cost €1.25 billion". Tornos News. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  4. https://www.ypodomes.com/index.php/special-editions/news-in-english/item/43345-railway-egnatia-the-anatomy-of-the-emerging-rail-backbone-of-greece
  5. "Design contract awarded for new line in Greece". International Railway Journal. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  6. "Cost for Thessaloniki - Kavala - Xanthi railway axis at €1.25 billion". Tornos News. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  7. "Albania southern rail link proposed". Railway Gazette. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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