Tsamichas Law Firm at ITC 2025 – Celebrating Hitachi Rail “Project of the Year 2024” Award for the Thessaloniki Metro

Tsamichas Law Firm was proud to participate in ITC 2025 – 8th Infrastructure & Transport Conference, held September 22–24 in Athens. It was a privilege to join leading industry voices discussing the future of infrastructure, mobility, and sustainable growth in Greece and beyond.

Among the highlights of the conference was the recognition of Hitachi Rail, as part of the AKTOR – WEBUILD – HITACHI consortium, with the prestigious “Project of the Year 2024” award for the Thessaloniki Metro. This award recognizes not merely engineering and construction excellence, but the transformative impact of the project on urban mobility.

The Thessaloniki Metro: A Landmark Project

The Thessaloniki Metro is more than a new transit line — it represents a leap forward in sustainable urban transportation in Greece.

• The first phase spans approximately 9.6 km and includes 13 underground stations.

• It is Greece’s first fully driverless / automated metro system, operating under the highest automation standards (GoA4), made possible by advanced signaling and automation technology.

• Hitachi Rail supplied both the rolling stock (initially 18 four-car trains) and the CBTC digital signaling system, enabling high throughput, precise control, and reliability.

• Once fully operational, the project is expected to remove ~56,000 cars from Thessaloniki’s roads each day and reduce ~77,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.

• During construction, engineers and archaeologists uncovered over 300,000 artifacts, including a Roman-era thoroughfare and Byzantine-era monuments. Many of these finds are now integrated into station designs, turning parts of the metro network into subterranean showcases of Thessaloniki’s rich history.

• The Line 2 “Kalamaria extension” (roughly 4.8 km, 5 new stations) is already under development and expected to expand connectivity to southern districts.

Together, these features make the Thessaloniki Metro a model of how modern infrastructure and heritage preservation can coexist and benefit city dwellers.

Hitachi Rail’s Significance

Hitachi Rail’s role in this project is central and emblematic of global expertise meeting local ambition:

• Their CBTC (Communication-Based Train Control) system ensures that trains operate with high precision, safety, and capacity — enabling tight scheduling, energy efficiency, and fault tolerance.

• The supplied rolling stock (four-car, fully automated units) is designed for high performance — up to 80 km/h, with air conditioning and capacity for 450 passengers per train set.

• Hitachi’s involvement brings international credibility to the project and demonstrates that Greece can host infrastructure projects with world-class technology.

The combination of state-of-the-art rail systems and robust legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks increases confidence among stakeholders and fosters sustainable urban development.

Legal & Strategic Support: Tsamichas Law Firm’s Role

Projects of this scale require meticulous legal vision and execution. At Tsamichas Law Firm, we support clients like Hitachi Rail and related consortium members across the spectrum of infrastructure projects:

• Structuring and negotiating contracts

• Regulatory compliance and permitting

• Intellectual property, data, and system safety frameworks

• Dispute resolution and risk management

• Stakeholder coordination (public authorities, lenders, consultants)

We are proud to accompany our clients on such transformational ventures, and we look forward to continuing our role as trusted legal partners as the Thessaloniki Metro expands.

Looking Ahead

The Thessaloniki Metro will not only reshape urban mobility, but also set new standards for sustainable, smart, and heritage-conscious infrastructure in Greece. We congratulate all the organizations and professionals involved, especially Hitachi Rail, and reaffirm our commitment to supporting such landmark projects with legal solidity and strategic insight.

If you’d like to discuss legal frameworks for infrastructure, transport, automation, public-private partnerships, or related domains, feel free to reach out to us.