Athens-Thessaloniki rail travel could take less than 3 1/2 hours by 2017 with a new plan presented that would allow trains to speed at over 160 km per hour. The new 7-km double tunnel created using the cut and cover method will be the second-largest railway pipe in Greece and one of the largest in the Balkans.

The new work will allow train travel from Athens to Thessaloniki to be cut by one hour and will make the rail axes five times more efficient in the transport of passengers between the two large cities.