Deputy Transport Minister, Konstantinos Kyranakis, speaking at the Hellenic Shipyards Association conference “BLUE STRATEGY SUMMIT 2026,” issued an open call to Greek companies to invest in domestic production. During a discussion on infrastructure and national strategy, Mr. Kyranakis emphasized the urgent need to restart the country’s industrial base in the transport sector, placing particular emphasis on the great opportunities that exist for the construction and reconstruction of rolling stock.
Kyranakis: Full reconstruction of aging trains should be done in units within Greece
The conference took place on Monday, May 25 at the InterContinental hotel, under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic and with broad support from many productive ministries. The Deputy Transport Minister noted that “Europe made a major strategic mistake in believing that outsourcing production to China and changing the production model was a sustainable model,” pointing out that China now “competes with the West in terms of both price and quality” in both shipbuilding and repair as well as in the construction of ships and trains. As he mentioned, “European governments have woken up, it’s time for action,” emphasizing that Greece must utilize available European funds and the country’s existing infrastructure to achieve a stronger production and export footprint.
In this context, he referred to the Vertical Rail Corridor from the Baltic countries to Alexandroupoli, as well as the effort to revive domestic train repair and industrial activity. “We have made an open call for train repair and production within borders,” he said, adding that ONEX has already responded with the goal that “full reconstruction of aging trains should be done in units within Greece.” As he emphasized, “the know-how exists, it has not been lost, what was missing was the political will to make investments in these sectors.”
He also made special reference to cooperation with South Korea, noting that “companies from Korea have come to partner with Greek companies and bring production here.”
“In Alexandroupoli, implementation of the first section of the Vertical Rail Corridor begins,” he emphasized, adding that the Vertical Rail Corridor will lead to “independence from the Bosphorus Straits,” which as he said constitutes a “huge geopolitical development” for Greece and the broader region as a whole.
Additionally, Mr. Kyranakis referred to the launch of tenders for the railway connection of the port of Elefsina and the 6th pier of Thessaloniki, with the goal of starting the projects within 2026.
“I owe it to the parents who lost their children and to Greek society that wants to travel by train safely”
Referring to railway safety, he noted that a 24-hour OSE control center is being introduced with automatic notifications that prevent potential train collisions, while he spoke about the implementation of psychometric tests in hiring and a new artificial intelligence system that converts audio dialogues into text to identify possible deviations from safety protocols. As he mentioned, in summer 2026 the works for complete modernization of the Athens-Thessaloniki line will be completed, emphasizing that “I owe it to the parents who lost their children and to Greek society that wants to travel by train safely.”
