Transport in Greece
Encyclopedia
Transport in Greece
has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nations 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.
Athens
(3 lines)
Thessaloniki
(1 or 2 lines) (Under construction)
Athens
(3 lines - officially 2 lines, Athens
-Chalkida line is not currently considered as suburban line.)
Thessaloniki
(2 lines)
Patras
(1 line)
organizes mass bus transit in Thessaloniki.
ETHEL
organizes mass bus transit in Athens.
ILPAP
organizes mass trolleybus transit in Athens.
There are also many companies named Astiko KTEL, which organize mass bus transit in many cities of Greece
.
is the common name for every company which is responsible for intercity and regional bus transit. Each prefecture, though, has its own regional network of buses, but they are named as "KTEL" and the name of the prefecture (now peripheral unit). (e.g. KTEL Nomou Argolidas).
(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 Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km.
under 914 m: 10 (2005)
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nations 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.
Railways
- total: 2,571 km (764 km are or will be electrified)
- standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge
- dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435 m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2004)
- cities with undergroundRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
railway system:
Athens
Athens Metro
The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
(3 lines)
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki Metro
The Thessaloniki Metropolitan Railway , or Thessaloniki Metro , is an underground rapid transit system under construction in Thessaloniki, Greece.-The project:...
(1 or 2 lines) (Under construction)
- cities with suburban railway system:
Athens
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
(3 lines - officially 2 lines, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
-Chalkida line is not currently considered as suburban line.)
Thessaloniki
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
(2 lines)
Patras
Proastiakos
Proastiakós , is the name used for the suburban services of TrainOSE, servicing Greece's three largest cities: Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras; providing them with modern commuter rail links, towards their suburbs and also towards other cities and towns located around them.The service, operated by...
(1 line)
- TrainOSETrainOSETrainOSE S.A. is a railway company in Greece which currently operates all passenger and freight trains on OSE lines. The company, formerly a subsidiary of the Hellenic Railways Organisation , has been from 2008 an independent state-owned company...
is the state railway operating company of Greece.
Light rail and Tramway
- Athens TramAthens TramThe Athens Tram is public tram network system serving Athens. It is constructed, owned and operated by Tram S.A. , subsidiary company of Attiko Metro S.A. ....
- Athens Mass Transit SystemAthens Mass Transit SystemThe Athens Mass Transit System is the largest mass transit system of Greece. The system serves all areas in Athens Metropolitan Area and other parts of Attica Region.-Companies:...
Highways
Roads:- total: 117,000 km
- paved: 107,406 km (including 1600 km of motorways in 2010; estimated 2800 km in 2015)
- unpaved: 9,594 km (1996 est.)
- over 2500 underground tunnels (est.)
Urban bus transport
OASTHOASTH
The Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization , abbreviated OASTH , is a mass transport organization operating in Thessaloniki, Greece.It was founded in 1957 and now covers a large area of the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city...
organizes mass bus transit in Thessaloniki.
ETHEL
Ethel
Ethel is an Old English word meaning "noble", frequently attested in Anglo-Saxon names. "Ethel" is derived from æthel, also spelled aethel and ethel. In Anglo-Saxon times it was a common first element in names e.g. "Ethelbert", "Etheldreda"...
organizes mass bus transit in Athens.
ILPAP
ILPAP
I.L.P.A.P. was a public Greek company, part of the general Athens Mass Transit System, responsible for the operation of the trolleybuses network...
organizes mass trolleybus transit in Athens.
There are also many companies named Astiko KTEL, which organize mass bus transit in many cities of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Intercity and regional bus transport
KTELKTEL
KTEL may refer to:* K-tel, company known for their "as seen on TV" "greatest hits" records and CDs* KTEL-LP, a low-power television station licensed to Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States...
is the common name for every company which is responsible for intercity and regional bus transit. Each prefecture, though, has its own regional network of buses, but they are named as "KTEL" and the name of the prefecture (now peripheral unit). (e.g. KTEL Nomou Argolidas).
Waterways
The 80 km system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth CanalCorinth Canal
The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. The builders dug the canal through...
(6 km) and three unconnected rivers. The Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
connecting the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece...
with the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.-Geography:The gulf includes the islands of; Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with...
and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km.
Ports and harbours
- AlexandroupoliAlexandroupoliAlexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
- Elefsina
- Irakleio, CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
- KavalaKavalaKavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...
- Kerkyra
- Chalkis
- IgoumenitsaIgoumenitsaIgoumenitsa , is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit Thesprotia. Its original ancient name used to be Titani....
- Lavrio
- PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
- PiraeusPiraeusPiraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
- ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
- VolosVolosVolos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
- MytileneMytileneMytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...
- RhodesRhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
Merchant Marine
- total: 3338 ships (with a volume of or over) totaling /http://www.nee.gr/htm/greekowned.htm
- ships by type (1999 est.)
- bulk carrierBulk carrierA bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
: 273 - cargo shipCargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
: 60 - chemical tankerChemical tankerA chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...
: 22 - combination bulk: 5
- combination ore/oil: 8
- container shipContainer shipContainer ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
: 43 - Liquified Gas CarrierLNG carrierAn LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...
: 5 - multi-functional large load carrier: 1
- passenger shipPassenger shipA passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
: 12 - passenger/cargo: 2
- petroleum tankerOil tankerAn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
: 245 - refrigerated cargo: 3
- roll-on/roll-off ship: 19
- short-sea passenger: 75
- specialized tanker: 4
- vehicle carrier: 2
Airports
- 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)