Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Staikouras has undertaken a political initiative to create a train route that will interconnect Greece, Bulgaria and Romania with Ukraine, it was reported on Saturday.
This initiative is the result of talks and contacts Staikouras held and pursued over three days while accompanying Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the trilateral meeting of Bulgaria, Romania and EU representatives in Varna, Bulgaria, on October 9, it was added.
In continuation of the Greek premier’s initiatives and the context of the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes initiative, Staikouras promoted the idea for this train route also in a letter sent to the EU Transport Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean, Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Assen Vassilev, Bulgaria’s Transport & Communications Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov, and to the Romanian Transport & Infrastructure Minister Sorin-Mihai Grindeanu.
In this project’s initial stage, the train will interconnect the Greek ports of Alexandroupolis and Thessaloniki with the ports of Ruse in Bulgaria and Constanta in Romania and with Moldova and Ukraine.
Furthermore, Staikouras undertook this initiative as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has generated economic and energy-related challenges, which significantly affect the integrity of the supply chain and the energy security of many countries, putting forth the need to diversify freight routes and connections.
According to Staikouras, this plan presents a significant opportunity to overcome long-standing obstacles and delay issues, provide alternative options in the commercial relations between several countries, and strengthen transport links and international freight transport.
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