The construction contract for a new metro line in Athens, which was signed on Tuesday, was hailed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as the “biggest public project in Greece.”
The contract between “Attiko Metro SA” and the “J&P Avax SA – Ghella SpA – Alstom Transport S.A” group of companies, for the construction of Athens metro Line 4, is budgeted at 1.6 billion euros.
It will “serve the most densely populated areas, will add significant value to properties, and will provide access to the Metro in emblematic areas,” Mitsotakis said, who added that the construction work will begin this Summer.
He acknowledged however, that the project “will cause considerable disturbance in Athens neighborhoods,” adding that patience is required “in order to see the first train of metro line 4 do its first run within schedule, in eight years.”
Construction of this new metro line begins at a time when the country is “turning a page as it leaves behind the coronavirus pandemic,” he underlined, and as “we invest in development to create new jobs and improve the quality of life.”
New Athens metro line from Galatsi to Goudi
The new Line 4 of the Athens metro will cover nearly 13 km (8.1 miles) from Alsos Veikou in Galatsi to Goudi, serving the municipalities of Athens, Galatsi, Kessariani and Zografou.
It will include 15 new stations: Alsos Veikou, Galatsi, Elikonos, Kypseli, Courts (Dikastiria), Alexandras Av., Exarchia, Akadimia, Kolonaki, Evangelismos, Kessariani, Panepistimioupoli, Zografou, Ilissia and Goudi, and serve key buildings and facilities.
These stations include hospitals, the courts, the National Polytechnic University, the National Archaeological Museum, the Culture Ministry, the University of Athens (UoA) Law School, the Benaki Museum (Koumbari St.), the British Council, and Panepistimioupoli, the UoA campus in Zografou.
In addition, four new stations – Exarchia, Akadimia, Kolonaki, and Evangelismos – will decongest current Athens metro stations, particularly the central one of Syntagma, and connect with the current lines at Panepistimio and Akadimia/Evangelismos stations.
The new line will run on a main tunnel approximately 10.1 km (6 miles) in length, created by two new tunnel-boring machines, and will also include 20 automated trains, without a driver.
It is estimated it will serve nearly 340,000 passengers on a daily basis, and reduce private car transportation by nearly 53,000 daily, with a reduction of CO2 emissions amounting to approximately 319 tons per day.
In addition to the new systems, the Line 4 construction project will introduce building information modeling (BIM), to Greece. This is an innovative platform supported by the European Commission and part of the Recovery Fund reforms.
It covers the gap between the researcher and the builder of a project, reducing the final cost significantly — a common problem in Greece.
The Athens Metro has significantly changed Athens by providing a much-needed solution to the city’s traffic and air pollution problem, as well as revitalizing many of the areas it serves.
An extension of Line 3 is also under construction toward Piraeus.
It is hailed for its modernity (mainly the newer lines 2, and 3) and many of its stations feature works of art, exhibitions and displays of the archeological remains found during its construction.
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