Webuild: Thessaloniki officially inaugurates its first metro line

Stretching for approximately 10 kilometres and featuring 13 stations, the new driverless line has also provided an opportunity to rediscover, preserve, and return to the community priceless historical and archaeological treasures —remains that had been buried for centuries beneath the busy streets of a city that has become one of the country’s most important economic and commercial hubs.

The built in partnership with Hitachi and Aktor, runs beneath the city’s most populated and congested areas. The new line is a prime example of an infrastructure project closely integrated with urban development, city planning, and the region's history and archaeology. The tunnel excavation, primarily carried out using two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), was accompanied by the largest archaeological dig ever undertaken in the city, covering an area of 30,000 square metres. These excavations uncovered numerous marble slabs from the Decumanus Maximus, the ancient main road of the city.

Tailored engineering solutions were developed, to ensure the preservation and restoration of these important artefacts. For instance, the tunnels were built at a depth of approximately 20 metres, and some stations were redesigned during construction to keep the artefacts in their original locations. One example is Demokratias station, which was shifted by 10 metres to preserve the findings.

Webuild has a long-standing presence in Greece, dating back to the 1950s. In the field of sustainable mobility, it has already contributed to the construction of Line 3 of the Athens Metro, covering the section between Monastiraki and Egaleo, as well as the city's tram system built for the 2004 Olympic Games. The company also completed the futuristic in the country, which houses the National Library and the Greek National Opera.

www.webuildgroup.com