Transport in Greece

Metro Line 1, the oldest Metro line of Athens Urban area

Transport in Greece have undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure and transportation. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nation's islands, improvements to the road infrastructure, rail, urban transport, and airports have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Greece's economy, which in the past decade has come to rely heavily on the construction industry.

Cable transport[]

Lycabettus railway car

Cable car of Santorini

Rail transport[]

Railways[]

total: 2,571 km (1,598 mi), (764 km or 475 mi are, or will be, electrified)
standard gauge: 1,565 km (972 mi) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge
narrow gauge: 961 km (597 mi) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge; 22 km (14 mi) 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge
dual gauge: 23 km (14 mi) combined 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauges (three rail system) (2004)

The state owned company that owns and maintains Greece's railway network is called OSE, while TrainOSE is the company responsible for operating all passenger and freight trains.

Metro[]

Athens Metro Train (1st Generation)

Cities with a rapid transit railway network:

Athens Metro (3 lines) (1 under construction)
Thessaloniki Metro (2 lines) (under construction)

Commuter rail[]

Proastiakos commuter rail

Cities with a commuter rail network (Proastiakos):

Athens (5 lines)
Thessaloniki (2 lines)
Patras (1 line)

Tram[]

Athens Tram

Athens Tram
List of town tramway systems in Greece

Road transport[]

Highways[]

A2 (Egnatia Odos) motorway

Moreas Motorway.

Attiki Odos, near the Athens International Airport

As of 2017, Greece has 2500 km of motorways.

Roads:

total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km
unpaved: 9,594 km (1996 est.)
over 2500 tunnels (est.)

Bus transport[]

Urban bus transport[]

Preserved vintage trolleybus of O.SY., Piraeus-Kastella line

OSY subsidiary of OASA organizes mass bus (Busses and trolleybuses) transit in Athens.
OASTH organizes mass bus transit in Thessaloniki.
Companies named Astiko KTEL provide mass bus transit in many of the other cities of Greece.

Intercity and regional bus transport[]

KTEL is the common name for every company which is responsible for intercity and regional bus transit. Most of the regional units, though, have their own regional network of buses, and have their regional unit names labeled on KTEL vehicles that operate there. (e.g. KTEL Argolidas).

There are 3 major bus terminals in Greece, the biggest is in Thessaloniki (Macedonia Inter city bus terminal) which serves all of Greece while Athens has 2 separate bus terminals serving different parts of Greece (Kifissos bus terminal and Liossion bus terminal). A new Athens bus terminal in Elaionas will replace the two separate terminals and serve all of Greece with completion by 2025.

Water transport[]

Waterways[]

View of the port of Patras

The 80 km system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) and three unconnected rivers.

The Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth, connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf; and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Piraeus by 325 km.

Ports and harbours[]

Alexandroupoli
Argostoli
Elefsina
Ermoupolis
Heraklion, Crete
Kalamata
Kavala
Kerkyra
Kos
Chalkis
Igoumenitsa
Lavrio
Patras
Piraeus
Port of Thessaloniki
Volos
Katakolo
Mykonos
Mytilene
Rhodes (city)
Souda
Syros

Merchant marine[]

total: 3,338 ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over) totaling 109,377,819 GT/182,540,868 tonnes deadweight (DWT)[1]
ships by type (1999 est.)

bulk carrier: 273
cargo ship: 60
chemical tanker: 22
combination bulk: 5
combination ore/oil: 8
container ship: 43
Liquified Gas Carrier: 5
multi-functional large load carrier: 1
passenger ship: 12
passenger/cargo: 2
petroleum tanker: 245
refrigerated cargo: 3
roll-on/roll-off ship: 19
short-sea passenger: 75
specialized tanker: 4
vehicle carrier: 2

Airports[]

Thessaloniki International Airport

total: 82 (2005)
With paved runways: 67

over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 17
under 914 m: 10 (2005)

With unpaved runways: 15

914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 12 (2005)

heliports: 8 (2005)

Pipelines[]

crude oil: 26 km
petroleum products: 547 km

Major construction projects[]