New, state-of-the-art trains going into operation on Sunday, May 15 will reduce the Athens-Thessaloniki travel time to 4 hours, TrainOSE, the Italian-owned Greek rail operator, said on Friday.
Normally, the travel time between the capital and the major northern city takes closer to 6 hours.
The new ETR470 trains will have nine wagons, which include a restaurant/bar and three first-class wagons. Each train has a seating capacity of 600 people.
The ETR 470 trains are not part of the “silver arrow” family of trains that can achieve even greater speeds. Silver arrow trains would travel the Athens-Thessaloniki route in just 3 hours and 20 minutes with a maximum speed capability of up to 250 km/hour. However, technical difficulties have delayed their introduction.
New Athens-Thessaloniki trains will run twice a day
ETR470 trains will run twice a day in each direction: