The ‘Silver Arrow’ train, which was selected by the Italian company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) and will connect Athens and Thessaloni in less than three-and-a-half hours, has begun its journey to Greece, where it will be unveiled on 8 September, to coincide with the start of the Thessaloniki International Fair.

The “Frecciargento ETR 485”, which is the full name of the train, has already been transported to Rome from Cervignano, in order to begin the journey to Greece, in order to reach Thessaloniki at the beginning of next week and conduct the first trial routes.

Before its official unveiling on 8 September, there will be a trial on the Thessaloniki-Katerini portion of the route, with a speed of 200 kilometres per hour.

However, after the Thessaloniki International Fair, the Silver Arrow will return to Italy until the electrification of the last, difficult stretch of the country’s central railway artery – the 52 kilometres between Lianokladi and Domoko – will be completed.

When the electrification work and security systems trials (European Train Control System) are completed in 2019, it is projected that the 48-passenger train, which can reach a maximum speed of 250 kilometres per hour, will make the Thessaloniki-Athens trip in three hours and 20 minutes.

After the work is completed, the company has the capability to make plans to bring to Greece the even faster “Red Arrow”, which can reach a speed of 300 kilometres per hour, making the Athens-Thessaloniki trip even quicker.

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