Crete Fixed Guideway Project Advances in Greek Government Talks

A teleconference of the Pan‑Cretan Open Committee for a fixed‑guideway system was held with Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Thanasios Kontogiannis, who also serves as the Prime Minister’s deputy. Local officials—including former minister Lefteris Avgenakis, mayors Zaharías Doxastákis of Chersonissos, Alexandros Kalokairinos of Heraklion, Vasilis Kekkeroglou of Minoa Pedias, and Giorgos Zervakis of Sitia—discussed incorporating the project into the National Strategic Transport Plan to enable funding and detailed studies.

The proposed line would link Kissamos with Sitia, with a branch to the new Kastelli International Airport, aiming to cut travel times between Heraklion–Kastelli and Heraklion–Sitia, reduce costs, improve road safety and relieve congestion on the northern road axis. The committee cited similar island systems in Corsica, Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia and Tenerife as models. The ministers indicated that an initial evaluation will be undertaken to gather necessary data before proceeding with further planning.