Greek lawmakers are due Thursday to approve a deal between the transport ministry and Italian-owned Hellenic Train for the delivery of 23 new trains for Greece’s rail network that is set to considerably cut travel times, the government said Thursday.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said the agreement calls for the first of the new electric trains to be delivered by mid-2027, and will reduce travel times on the main Athens-to-Thessaloniki line to below three and a half hours.

The €308 million investment will be fully financed by Hellenic Train, a subsidiary of Italy’s state Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.

“This is the biggest land transport investment in the country,” Marinakis said. “For the first time since the (2004) Olympic Games, Greece is acquiring new – and not used – trains.”

Marinakis said the total investment around the deal would reach €420 million, to be fully financed by Italy’s state budget.