Contract for 23 new trains is signed; private investment of 308 mln euros, deliverable by 2027

Greece's revised public contract with Hellenic Train involves total investments of 420 million euros and new rules with stricter clauses at the railroad, the Infrastructure & Transport Ministry said on Monday.

Specifically, the ministry said in a statement, the key points include the following:

- 308 million euros for 23 new trains. The agreement for the trains was signed on Monday between Hellenic Train and manufacturer Alstom, delivered by 2027.

- 112 million euros for new train depots, upgrades, and digital systems.

- A first-time clause will allow the termination of the contract if the new trains are not delivered to Greece by 2027.

- Stricter clauses benefiting the Greek public sector over delays, immobilizations, and failure to maintain the trains as obliged.

- Doubling of compensation to passengers in case of immobilization.

- Monitoring the execution of schedules under a new digital geolocation system; transparent payment mechanism instead of the current paper-based system.

Greek, Italian PMs

The revised contract follows up on memorandum of cooperation between the Greek government and Ferrovie dello Stato, parent company of Hellenic Train, on May 12 that was attended by the prime ministers of Greece and Italy Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Giorgia Meloni, respectively. The memorandum contained the intention of new investments in trains exclusively paid for by the Italian side.

This the largest private investment in overland transport, and the first procurement of new trains since the pre-Olympic Games period in 2004.

Of the 23 trains, 12 will be used on the Athens-Thessaloniki railroad line and 11 will add to urban railroads of Athens and Thessaloniki. The cost is 308 million euros, while Hellenic Train also assumes the cost of upgrading the existing fleet (at a cost of another 20 million euros) and of the infrastructure for maintenance and systems (another 35 million).

Other projects

Meanwhile, infrastructure works on the Athens-Thessaloniki axis will continue. Projects include submerging the Sepolia line in Athens, fixing the Larissa-Volos and Paleofarsalos-Kalabaka lines damaged by Daniel, and the urban railroads of Liossia-Megara (West Attica) and New RR-Anchialos (West Thessaloniki), the extension to Patras, and others. Northern Greece lines will take priority (Alexandroupolis-Ormenio), followed by the extension to Patras.