The leaden sky and the light rain did not dissuade, this November, Ilias Alanidis, a retiree from the center of Thessaloniki, from coming to observe the progress of the long-awaited metro work in this metropolis in northern Greece. “Finally, our ordeal is almost over. We will be lucky to be able to do without the car. Our life will change! »exclaims the sixty-year-old, who has lived since 1985 in this city of more than 1 million inhabitants. In disbelief, a passer-by alpaca, in front of the Agia Sofia metro station, a foreman who emerges from underground, a blue helmet on his head: “Will you really be ready for the inauguration on November 30? »
On Egnatia Street, traders have endured the sounds of jackhammers and scaffolding on the sidewalks for around fifteen years. Rents, in view of this new metro, have continued to increase in recent years, while customers, annoyed by the tumult of the work, have deserted the artery. Result: dozens of stores have closed. “I survived, I can only rejoice at the inauguration of the metro. But how many colleagues have gone bankrupt in the meantime? The municipality should have helped us”sighs Giorgos Karageorgios, the owner of a shoe store.
Incessant traffic jams, lack of parking spaces, insufficient buses and cycle lanes: the center has become chaotic. The metro will, for many city dwellers, be a step towards making the city more pleasant. The first portion of the driverless metro must serve 13 stations spread over 9.8 kilometers in seventeen minutes. Furthermore, a new ring road is being built to try to reduce traffic in the city center.
“Currently, by car, due to traffic jams and work on the ring road, it takes us up to an hour and a half to cross [la ville] from east to west. So, obviously, new public transport is necessary”notes Spyros Pegkas, municipal councilor. With the operation of the metro, the Greek government estimates that around 57,000 fewer vehicles will circulate, and that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 212 tonnes per day (corresponding to the daily emission of around 12 000 people).
The idea of a metro emerged at the end of the 1980s, and the first call for tenders dates back to 1992. “We have been waiting for this metro for almost forty years. It's hard to jump for joy, but the city is finally entering a new era. This is the opportunity or never to make it more attractive”underlines, lucidly, the mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis.
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Source: Lemonde