Opening ceremony of Venizelos station new metro in Thessaloniki took place on Friday (29/11), where Kyriakos Mitsotakis got acquainted with the premises in which important archaeological finds discovered during the construction of the metro are displayed.
The excursion took place in the presence President of the Republic of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulouunder the leadership Deputy Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni.
Many people gathered at the Venizelos station, among the officials were minister of transport Christos Staikouras, Deputy Minister of Transport Vasilis Oikonomos, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Nikos Takhias And minister of public administration Akis Skertsos.
Tour of the archaeological site of Venizelos Station
It is worth noting that the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the metro on Saturday morning.
“Surgical procedures were required. The parts have been restored and reinstalled. Today we have a panorama of the earlier building stages of Thessaloniki, starting from the Hellenistic period and the development of the city towards the plains and the sea. It was a complex and time-consuming process. Removing and reinstalling 3,500 m² of archaeological objects – this has never happened before,” – said, among other things, the Minister of Culture, then starting a tour for the Prime Minister and President of the Republic.
“At Venizelos station, visitors and passengers will be able to see unique archaeological finds up close and “travel” through the city’s commercial center, as it was in Roman and Hellenistic times. This is Thessaloniki’s internationally unique advantage.” – noted the Minister of Culture.
Essentially this… diving 30 meters undergroundinto the centuries-old history of the city, into an open museum on levels -1 and -2 of the station, where almost all archaeological finds are housed.
Archaeological research reveals a Roman and Hellenistic road Decumanus maximusor, otherwise, the Byzantine Middle Street, as well as part of the urban structure of late antiquity. The Prime Minister will be introduced to the Venizelos station and will see the innovative solutions that have been found and implemented on an area of 1,260 m².
What will change in the city’s transport system
The underground journey by metro in Thessaloniki from one end of the city to the other, that is, from New Switzerland to the New Railway Station, will take 17 minutes, including 13 stops, to cover 9.8 km of route with an average speed of each train of 40 km/h and a maximum of 80 km/h
The expected daily passenger traffic on the Thessaloniki metro will be approximately 254,000 passengers, with a transport capacity of 18,000 passengers per hour in each direction. And with the integration of the expansion towards Kalamaria, another 78,000-80,000 passengers per day will be added in a year.
The time interval between the 18 trains that will operate on the metro line will initially be 3.5 minutes, and gradually, with the addition of another 15 new trains that will serve the extension to Kalamaria with five stations, it will be reduced to 1.5 minutes. The trains are made from 92% recycled materials and will accommodate 465 people (sitting and standing) each, which will operate without a driver.
In addition to the speed at which it will be possible to cross the city of Thessaloniki underground, with the launch of the metro there will be 57,000 fewer cars in the city every day, resulting in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 212 tons per day.
The ticket price will be 0.60 euroswhile special categories of citizens, such as people with disabilities, will be able to travel free of charge.
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