A railway line at Greece's northern tip selected for EU funding

The Pythion-Ormenio railway line in Greece's northernmost municipalities of Didymoteicho and Trigono, in the Evros region, will be funded with 1.4 million euros to upgrade the existing line and lay a second one.

The route connects the Aegean Sea with the Black Sea, and is part of the European Union's plans for a European rail network for competitive freight. 

The Commission said that all 39 projects selected for funding will help improve connections across the continent, while emphasizing sustainable modes of transport. It added that the projects will reduce the noise caused by freight trains, develop and improve cross-border rail links and upgrade vital infrastructures in ports.

"We honor our commitments to make transport more sustainable, safer and smarter," Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said. "Today's decision gives a further impetus to the transition to low-emission mobility across Europe, starting with our railways and ports."

Support will be supplied by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU's funding instrument that promotes targeted infrastructure investment in trans-European networks. 

The program has so far supported 795 projects totaling 22.3 billion euros, mobilizing a total investment of 47.1 billion euros in the transport sector.