Crete has no trains because the island is a geological Rubik’s cube with the budget of a bus ticket. To lay even a single line of track, engineers would have to carve through mountains, over gorges, and under bureaucrats. Every government swears it will happen “soon,” then quietly funds another highway instead. Between rock, cost, and politics, the dream of a Cretan railway remains just that — a dream, occasionally discussed, never built, and always delayed by optimism.
- MP Haris Mamoulakis once again raised the issue of a railway in Crete.
- Deputy Minister Kyranakis agreed that trains are, in theory, a good idea.
- EU funds might be sought, assuming political will survives the next coffee break.
- Crete, home to 14% of Greece’s GDP, remains trainless and proudly car-dependent.
- The project is expected to be completed, but the timeline is uncertain, pending further discussion.
Once again, the Greek Parliament became the station for a recurring service: the Cretan Railway Debate Express. For the fifth time since 2020, Heraklion MP Haris Mamoulakis passionately defended the dream of a train on Crete — a dream so old it might itself qualify as an archaeological find.
Mamoulakis argued that Crete deserves a “reliable transport framework” and that a rail connection between Heraklion and Kastelli Airport would benefit both locals and tourists. Everyone agreed enthusiastically. Then everyone went home in cars.
Deputy Minister of Transport Konstantinos Kyranakis acknowledged the project’s “importance” — the political equivalent of sending a Valentine’s card without signing it — and promised to seek EU funding. Brussels, having heard this tune before, quietly put on noise-cancelling headphones.
Europe Encourages, Greece Nods
Mamoulakis cited the recent visit of EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to “sustainable transport.” The Commissioner emphasized that such projects are a top EU priority — provided, of course, the member states actually submit plans instead of PowerPoints.
He also reminded Greece that the EU will soon launch a new strategy for green infrastructure by 2026. Experts predict that by then, Crete might have a map showing where a train could one day go, assuming the goats approve.
Statistically Speaking, Still No Train
The numbers are solid: Crete hosts 7.2% of Greece’s population, generates 14% of the national GDP, and owns 0% of functioning railway tracks. Mamoulakis called this “unacceptable,” urging the ministry to act — or at least pretend to.
The ministry responded with traditional precision: “We will examine the possibility.” Translated from bureaucratese, that means check back after your grandchildren have grandkids.
Heraklion to Kastelli, in Theory
The new international airport at Kastelli, now one of Greece’s largest infrastructure projects, is designed to replace Heraklion’s Nikos Kazantzakis hub. Built on former farmland in the heart of Crete, it promises sleek terminals, long runways, and shorter tempers. When it finally opens, Kastelli will handle up to 18 million passengers a year — many of whom will need to drive there through winding roads that make even locals motion-sick.
A railway connection would make perfect sense: it would ease traffic, cut emissions, and finally let Crete join the 20th century (never mind the 21st). But laying track across Crete’s mountainous spine would cost hundreds of millions — money no government seems eager to spend on something that cannot be ribbon-cut every election cycle.
The plan — if we may call it that — envisions a short suburban line connecting Heraklion with the future Kastelli Airport. It is described as “low-cost, safe, and environmentally friendly,” three qualities that have never before appeared in the same Greek transport sentence.
If successful, it could expand across the entire island of Crete. If not, it will remain where all great ideas go: the archives of parliamentary minutes, between the pages labeled “Vision” and “Pending.”
The Deputy Minister’s promise to “pursue funding” has sparked cautious optimism and uncontrollable laughter across the island. Locals, weary from decades of “strategic planning,” suggest that before dreaming of trains, the government should address the large potholes on the roads, which are so extensive that they could be considered geological formations.
For now, Crete continues to move — just not on rails. Tourists rent cars, locals dodge them, and the rest of us wait for a whistle that may never blow.
