Greece builds Egnatia railway between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli

The roughly 206 km new-build line is planned to connect the northern Greek cities of Thessaloniki, Kavala, Xanthi and Alexandroupoli, modernizing northern Greece's rail infrastructure. Total costs are estimated at approx. EUR 1.8 billion, funded partly via EFSI, EIB and EU programmes; the construction contract for the 31.8 km Xanthi–Kavala subsection was awarded in 2019, with environmental approvals following in 2022. The source states no firm completion date (article last substantively updated August 2025); the given date 2030-12-31 is neither confirmed nor contradicted by the source. Update (18 May 2026): According to press reports, the Greek Court of Audit is jeopardising the schedule of the new Toxote–N. Karvali line to the port of Kavala, which is under construction: it is said to have annulled the award contract after earlier objections to the alignment and the environmental impact assessment. The line is classed as nationally important in Greece and belongs to the Sea2Sea project and the BBA corridor; around EUR 200 million from the Connecting Europe Facility 2021–2027 is available for it and could be lost if the funding period is overrun. There is no official statement, including from the government. (LOK Report, 18 May 2026)