Konstantinos Kyranakis, Deputy Minister for Transport, during the firechat on the topic of «Infrastructure, transport & national strategy», as part of the BLUE STRATEGY SUMMIT 2026 conference organised by the Hellenic Shipbuilders’ Association (EEN) at the InterContinental Athens on Monday 25 May under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic, with the support of the Ministries of National Defence, Environment and Energy, Development, Labour and Social Security, Infrastructure and Transport, and Shipping and Island Policy.
The Deputy Minister for Transport noted that «Europe made a major strategic error in believing that outsourcing production to China and changing its production model was a sustainable approach», pointing out that China now «competes with the West in terms of standard, price and quality» in both ship repair and the construction of ships and trains. As he stated, «European governments have woken up; it is time for action», stressing that Greece must make the most of available European funds and the country’s existing infrastructure in order to establish a stronger manufacturing and export footprint.
In this context, he referred to the Vertical Railway Corridor from the Baltic States to Alexandroupoli, as well as to the efforts to revitalise the domestic railway maintenance and industrial sectors.
«We have issued an open call for train repairs and manufacturing within Greece,» he said, adding that ONEX has already responded with the aim of «carrying out the complete refurbishment of ageing trains at facilities within Greece». As he emphasised, «the technical expertise exists; it has not been lost. What was lacking was the political will to invest in these sectors.».
He also made special mention of the cooperation with South Korea, noting that «companies from Korea have come to partner with Greek firms and bring production here».
«Work is beginning in Alexandroupoli on the first section of the Vertical Rail Corridor,» he emphasised, adding that the Vertical Railway Corridor would lead to «independence from the Bosphorus Strait», which, he said, constitutes a «huge geopolitical development» for Greece and the wider region as a whole.
He also mentioned the launch of the tenders for the rail link between the port of Elefsina and Pier 6 in Thessaloniki, with the aim of starting work on the projects by 2026.
Referring to railway safety, he noted that a 24-hour OSE control centre is being introduced, featuring automatic alerts designed to prevent potential train collisions, whilst also mentioning the use of psychometric tests in the recruitment process and a new artificial intelligence system that converts audio conversations into text to identify potential deviations from safe operating protocols. As he noted, the full modernisation works on the Athens–Thessaloniki line will be completed in the summer of 2026, emphasising that «I owe it to the parents who lost their children and to Greek society, which wants to travel safely by train».
Watch the entire EEN Blue Strategy Summit 2026, as broadcast live on its YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po-OwjiZSYQ