Italian state railway group Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, owners of Greece’s national passenger and freight train operator Trainose, are moving full steam ahead with the launch of Frecciabianca (or white arrow) by January 2018, which is a new passenger train set to run the Athens-Thessaloniki route in 4.5 hours.
The Italian operator, who purchased Trainoise last year for 45 million euros, is focusing on the Athens-Thessaloniki route, which may include only one stop in Larissa. However the new route can only be operational if national railway operator OSE delivers the electrified Athens-Lianokladi line, according to Trainose CEO Philippos Tsalidis.
“Even without the ETCS, I think we can at least have one train a day operate the Athens-Thessaloniki route in four and a half hours,” added Tsalidis.
