Greek city of Thessaloniki gets new metro system with driverless trains after years of delays

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — The metro system in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki opened Saturday featuring driverless trains, and tens of thousands of people braved blustery, rainy weather to wait outside the stations to try them out.

The single 13-station subway line was jammed with passengers eager to get a taste of the city’s new transport system.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, flanked by President Katerina Sadkellaropoulou and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras, pressed a blue button to begin the operation of a system that was a long time coming.

Mitsotakis said the first appropriations for exploratory digging were part of the 1976 budget. In 1999, a banner on the entrance of the city’s international trade fair proclaimed that “the metro is soon coming near you.”

Years of court battles that saw contracts canceled, real estate disputes and a fight over the placement of a station near important archaeological discoveries, derailed the project. When the first carriages arrived in 2019 the previous government staged an “inauguration” with the carriages sitting on cement stands.

The delays pushed the cost of the project to over 3 billion euros, Staikouras said.

Passengers entering the Eleftherios Venizelos station in the city center can take a look at some of the more than 300,000 artifacts dug up by archaeologists. Deep underground, remains of the city’s busiest street in the 6th century were found. This was a busy thoroughfare with many shops, archaeologists say.

Many objected to, and loudly protested, the temporary removal of many of the findings in order to complete the tunneling and build the station.

Antiquities are also displayed outside a nearby station, under protective glass.

Officials said the operation of the line will mean 57,000 fewer cars per day in this traffic-choked city, with an expected 254,000 passengers using the system daily in the city of more than 300,000 and more than a million when including the suburbs. It's the second largest metropolitan area in Greece.

An eastward extension of the line with five additional stations is scheduled to open in 2025. A westward extension is planned. But it will likely take several more years for the metro to reach the city’s busy Macedonia Airport.

Nellas reported from Athens, Greece

Commuters inside a metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

A passenger takes photographs from inside a metro wagon during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters inside a metro wagon during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters at a metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters stand around an archaeological site located inside the Venizelou metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters make their way around an archaeological site located inside the Venizelou metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters stand around an archaeological site located inside the Venizelou metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters use the ecalator at a metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters use escalators at a metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Commuters walk around a metro station during the inauguration day of the Thessaloniki metro, in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched on Saturday in the streets of Valencia a month after devastating floods to demand the resignation of the regional officials who bungled the emergency response.

The protest was the second major march of its kind asking for Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón to step down. He has refused to do so while making changes to his Cabinet and appointing a retired general to lead the cleanup effort.

Many citizens and flood survivors are angry for what they consider the negligent or inept handling of the flash floods that created major flooding on Oct. 29-30. At least 230 people died, while thousands of homes and vehicles were destroyed or ruined.

Mazón’s administration didn't issue flood alerts to people’s cellphones until flooding had already started in some areas. Saturday’s march culminated with people playing the shrill alert they received on their phones in unison.

Authorities were then overwhelmed with the scope of the damage and took days to scale up rescue and recovery efforts. The cleanup of the layers of mud left by the rushing waters continues.

Demonstrators march during a protest a month after devastating floods to demand the resignation of the regional officials who bungled the emergency response in Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/ Alberto Saiz)

Demonstrators gather a month after devastating floods to demand the resignation of the regional officials who bungled the emergency response in Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/ Alberto Saiz)

Demonstrators march during a protest a month after devastating floods to demand the resignation of the regional officials who bungled the emergency response in Valencia, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/ Alberto Saiz)