Some context here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki_Metro

This seems to have flown under the radar a bit but it’s a similar case to the metro project in Ho Chi Minh. It took an eternity to finish with the first hole being dug in 1989 and it finally opened to the public last month. It had become kind of a meme due to all the delays and changing of hands among now-bankrupt companies and with every government promising to open it (it’s had at least two opening ceremonies years apart). Now a month later it’s still having issues and is really small, mostly serving the center but it’s the first driverless metro in Greece with modern stations and also featuring a museum so it’s promising.

  • Blastboom Strice
    20·
    10 days ago

    Ayoo, hello there! Allow me to throw some shade:)

    Yeah, this metro has really been a huuuuge pain over the years and really has various problems. Coupled with the fact that 2years ago we had a fatal crash of trains (one of which was probably carrying illegal oil) and the government is still trying to suppress the case (and there have been almost no changes/fixes to our railway), I’ve become very hesitant with this metro.

    Issues with it:

    • A tram (as experts say too) would be easier/faster/cheaper/better to build (also it takes around 3minutes to go down to the platform, a tram wouldnt have such issues).
    • It cost around 3.5billion euros, about triple the expected cost.
    • The tests haven’t finshed yet. They rushed it (our country has issues with railway safety…). The tests should last 18months, but at the time it was opened to the public, only 13months had passed. During the non-public test period, the carts once crashed head-on at minimum speed. During the public test period, a cart once lost power and all of the carts had to stop to prevent a crash (people had to walk inside the tunnels to get out), the statiom has paused operations for other various reasons (once only one route operated for a few hours I think), during opening days there was a big storm and there was water leaking in the platforms (they rushed it that much that not all of the tents were build outside the station entrances).
    • It was that rushed, that you couldnt pay with a bank card for some time or they didnt have change for bills over 10 euros, etc. It’s a mess.
    • It’s short as you say, it practically mainly helps commutes towards the center (in the west side or the far east there is no good public transport and it stops after midnight). It doesn’t even reach the airport or the interurban bus stations. Only the railway station, which I’d advise not to use.
    • There were ancient findings in those areasa they dug. Lots of them. Archaeologists weren’t allowed to treat them they way they wanted. (Could be easily avoided with a tram or by letting archaeologists do their work properly.)
    • It essentially to 40 years to make it. The main part of the construction took place the last 20 years. The city had increased traffic issues (and looked kinda bad) for 2 decades due to this (now there is an unecessary huge road being build near the ringroad, which causes a lot of traffic in the already dangerous ringroad).
    • While it’s driverless, it doesn’t operate all hours, it stops at 00:30 on Mon-Thu and at 02:30 on Fri-Sun.
    • While it’s curently cheap and during Friday 18:30 till Sunday 02:30 is free for the public, I think they should make public transport free for the public (what a crazy take, right?), especially for a city that only had buses for the public all this time (decades ago there was also a tram for cargo from the port, but it’s been removed). They should follow Belgrade’s example and make them public.
    • They paid 30thousand euros for the logo (which is essentially a lowercase “μ”), to a somewhat ghost company. Just goes to show how corrupted this whole thing is.

    Corruption has ruined it and keeps causing issues:/

    The main cool thing I found is that at the platform, there are routes for both directions, so you don’t have the angst of picking the correct entrance on the surface when you go to the station.

    PS. I dont know if you’re Greek too, but if you are, we have mildly active small community at https://fedia.io/m/Greece (is !Greece@fedia.io the corect link?) :)

    • MicrowavedTea@infosec.pubOP
      61·
      10 days ago

      I tried to keep a positive note, after all it is progress even if the whole project wasn’t exactly a success. I didn’t know about the unfinished tests, that’s pretty concerning given our track record with trains. You actually still can’t pay with a card or buy reduced tickets but at least the machines give change now. The short line is not so much a problem as long as each extension doesn’t take another decade. Pretty much spot on on everything else and I’d like to add two more small issues.

      • Thessaloniki is terrible with parking and there was zero regard for parking spaces around the stations, adding extra load to these areas
      • I don’t know if this will be better maintained but the Athens metro has way too many elevators and escalators constantly out of order. The stations here rely too much on escalators and it will be a pain going two levels down when half of them are not working. There’s also no phone coverage but maybe that’s fixable.

      Stopping here before this turns into a rant :p

      PS thanks for the link, somehow I hadn’t come across that community.

      • Blastboom Strice
        7·
        10 days ago

        after all it is progress even if the whole project wasn’t exactly a success

        Yeah, it certainly is progress and probably has reduced both traffic and commute times:)

        Stopping here before this turns into a rant

        Yeah, I see what you mean. I tried to point the issues quickly and in a civilized manner.😆 I feel like they should be pointed, because those in power tend to write history with their narrative and outsiders may not even know half the story.

        PS thanks for the link, somehow I hadn’t come across that community.

        You’re welcome:) Your name didn’t ring any bell and I guessed you might weren’t aware of the community (plus you’re not in the mainstream instances which makes it likelier that you don’t federate with the community)😄