Athens Metro

Attiko Metro
Αττικό Μετρό
Info
Owner Attiko Metro S.A.
Locale Athens
Transit type Rapid transit
Number of lines 2 (not including ISAP line 1)
Number of stations 33 (lines 2 & 3) incl. 4 OSE stations
Daily ridership 1,150,000[1]
Operation
Began operation January 2000 (lines 2 & 3)
Operator(s) Statheres Sygkoinonies S.A.
Number of vehicles 294 Railcars
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge)

The Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. (Greek: Αττικό Μετρό Α.Ε., literally 'Attic metro') and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A. (Greek: Αττικό Μετρό Εταιρεία Λειτουργίας Α.Ε., English: Attic Metro Operating Company).[2] Currently it is being integrated with ISAP and Athens Tram in the new company STASY S.A.

Contents

History

For a long time the only rapid transit system in Athens and Piraeus was the old Athens-Piraeus Railway, which was electrified in 1904 and extended to Kifissia in 1957. That system remained in use and was operated until 2011 by ISAP, a separate company under separate ownership. It was occasionally referred to by third parties as Metro Line 1 (Green line).

Construction of Lines 2 and 3 began in November 1991 to decrease traffic congestion and clean up the environment by reducing Athens' smog level. Lines 2 and 3, constructed by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Operations Company S.A. and known as red and blue lines respectively, were inaugurated in January 2000. Line 3 reached the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in summer 2004 and Egaleo in May 2007. New stations are regularly being added to the network, the latest being Agia Paraskevi station (2010-12-30).

In March 2011, the Greek Government passed Law 3920[3] to allow Athens Metro Operations Company (AMEL) to absorb Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways and Athens Tram. The resulting company was renamed "STASY S.A." (Greek: ΣΤΑΣΥ Α.Ε.) and is a subsidiary of OASA S.A. The merger was officially announced on June 10, 2011.[4] However no actual integration of infrastructure and operations of the constituent companies has taken place yet.

Description

As of December 2010, the system served 33 stations, not counting the four OSE stations on the Airport line. Both Metro lines have passenger connections with ISAP (Line 1), Proastiakos, the Athens Suburban Railway and the Athens Tram system. There is a physical connection with ISAP railway at Attiki station.

The system consists of standard gauge lines in intermediate depth tunnels, with both up and down lines in a common tunnel. The system is electrified with the third-rail system, using a nominal voltage of 750 V DC.

The length of the blue line (line 3) as of April 2008 was 16.4 km[5] not including the suburban railway part to the airport, or, as of February 2008, 37.6 km including the 21.2 km of the line that it shares with the suburban railway system of Athens. The length of the red line (line 2) as of July 2008 was 10.9 km[5]. This brings the overall length of the green, red and blue lines to approximately 74 km.

An automatic train supervision system (ATS) and a passenger information system (PIS) made by Alstom cover the whole network. Traditional color light signalling is limited to points and junctions.

It is being heavily used, earning a daily ridership of more than one and a half million passengers.

Ticketing policy

Purchased tickets are valid for 90 minutes after validation and can be used for several journeys on the network (lines 1, 2 and 3), as well as in most other means of public transport in Athens including buses, trolleybuses, trams, and the urban part of the suburban railway (between Piraeus, Magoula and Koropi stations, excluding the airport). Passengers must validate their tickets at the machines at the entrance to the station from which the journey starts.[6]

There are daily and weekly tickets, as well as monthly cards which also apply for all means of public transport in Athens. Fares are checked frequently. Passengers who fail to show a validated ticket or a monthly card are required to pay 60 times the price of a standard ticket.

Local fares

See Wikitravel for this info.

Airport fares

Travel to and from the Athens International Airport requires a special 8 euros ticket. Return tickets are also available - in February 2011, the return fare for use within 48 hours was 14 euros. There are also two- and three-person one-way tickets available.

A map of rapid transit systems in Athens.

Line 1 (Green line)

Main article: ISAP

Although often depicted on maps and route diagrams as part of Athens Metro, Line 1 (Green Line), until mid-2011 it was actually owned and operated by a separate company - Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways. A merger of the two systems, while dictated by Law 2668,[7] was postponed indefinitely and the required Presidential Decree was never issued. In March-June 2011 the Greek Government merged ISAP with Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A. and with Athens Tram in a single new company, STA.SY S.A.

Line 2 (Red line)

 Athens Metro L2 
Acropolis station of Athens Metro system (Line 2).
Line length: 11.8 km (7.3 mi)
Track gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
Anthoupolis under construction
Peristeri under construction
Agios Antonios
Sepolia
Sepolia Depot
Attiki Connection with ISAP
Larissa station Connection with OSE
Metaxourgio
Omonoia Connection with ISAP
Panepistimio
Syntagma Connection with Line 3
Akropoli
Syngrou-Fix
Neos Kosmos
Agios Ioannis
Dafni
Ag. Dimitrios
Ilioupoli under construction
Alimos under construction
Argyroupoli under construction
Elliniko under construction

The red line between Omonoia and Attiki is ISAP
(Line 1). The connection near Attiki is rarely used
by departmental trains. The connection with L3 is
used for empty stock movements.

Stations on Line 2

Future extensions

Extensions of Line 2 to the northwest (Peristeri) and southeast (along Vouliagmenis Avenue) are under construction. When all of them are operational (2012), the line shall run from Anthoupoli to Elliniko. Further extensions to the northwest are under consideration.[8][9]

Line 3 (Blue line)

 Athens Metro L3 
Doukisis Plakentias metro station
Line length: 18.6 km (11.6 mi)
Track gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
(0') Agia Marina under construction
Egaleo
(1') Eleonas
OSE mainline
(3') Kerameikos
(4') Monastiraki Connection with ISAP
(1') Syntagma Connection with line 2
(3') Evangelismos
(1') Megaro Moussikis
(2') Ambelokipi
(1') Panormou
(2') Katehaki
(2') Ethniki Amyna
Holargos
Nomismatokopio
Agia Paraskevi
(6') Halandri
(3') Doukissis Plakentias
Plakentias Depot
(7') Pallini
(2') Paiania-Kantza
(6') Koropi
(6') Athens International Airport

Between Doukisis Plakentias and Aiport
stations Metro trains run on OSE lines.

Stations on Line 3

Future extensions

A southwestern extension is under construction and the new station Agia Marina is scheduled to open in 2011. A new rolling stock depot is under construction near Eleonas station. There are plans to further extend the line from Haidari to Piraeus. If the extension is approved, it shall serve the northwestern suburbs of Piraeus:

Rolling stock

Batch Year Configuration Type Numbering Description
1st 2000 DT-M-MD+MD-M-DT DT A01-A56 56 EMU-3 "half-trains" operating as 28 EMU-6 trains. Made by Alsthom-Siemens-ADtranz. MD railcars have an auxiliary driving facility used only for shunting.
M B01-B56
MD C01-C56
2nd
(DC)		 2003–2004 DM-T-M+M-T-DM DM D201-D228 28 EMU-3 "half-trains" operating as 14 EMU-6 trains. Made by Hanwa-Rotem-Mitsubishi.
T T201-T228
M M201-M228
2nd
(DC/AC)		 2003–2004 DM-T-M+M-T-DM DM D251-D264 14 EMU-3 "half-trains" operating as 7 EMU-6 trains. Made by Hanwa-Rotem-Mitsubishi, can also operate on 25 kV AC, 50 Hz lines.
T T251-T264
M M251-M264
3rd 2011 A contract for 17 air conditioned EMU-6 trains was signed on 2009-09-16 with Hanwa-Rotem.[12]

Railcar codes: DM: driving motor car, DT: driving trailer, M: motor car, T: trailer, MD: motor car with auxiliary driving facility.

Archaeological excavations and exhibits

Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection

During the construction of the metro tunnels, numerous artefacts of archaeological interest were discovered. Their discovery was brought about as a result of what is known as salvage archaeology, this is archaeology that comes into play not because of natural decay but due to the artefacts' imminent destruction by the systematic excavation process. Teams of archaeologists worked ahead of, then alongside, engineers for a total of 6 years. They protected and recorded the archaeological evidence that was uncovered which included ancient streets, houses, cemeteries, sanctuaries, public workshops, foundry pits, kilns, aqueducts, wells, cisterns, drains and sewage tunnels. Together this allowed a new insight into the topography of the city in ancient times. Never before has such a rapid development of infrastructure been accompanied hand-in-hand with the attentive study and preservation of archaeological data.

Exhibitions of ancient artefacts and/or their replicas can be found at various metro stations, such as those of Monastiraki and Syntagma.

Proposed Line 4 (Orange line)

Alsos Veikou - Maroussi A new line, planned, but no funding is secured as of May 2009.[13] On November 4, 2010, it was announced that a call for tenders for the construction of the western branch shall be published in late 2011. Currently geotechnical investigations are taking place at various locations on the proposed route.

According to the Metro Development Study, two new lines would be constructed, as branches of the existing lines: a line 2 branch from Panepistimio to Alsos Veikou and a line 3 branch from Panormou to Maroussi. Further studies showed that the construction of an new separate line combining these two branches is preferable.[14] The proposal also recommends lighter rolling stock than the type used in lines 2 and 3, which shall operate fully automatically without a driver. The proposed route for line 4 is:

Proposed Future Expansion

In April 2009, The Hellenic Ministry of Public Works released a preliminary proposal for a future expansion of the Attiko Metro, as part of the new Regulatory Plan for Athens and Attica.[15][16] The proposal was intended to serve as a basis for future expansion of rapid transit in the Attiki basin, specifically stating that the project would not be completed in less than 20 years. The plan also called upon using only revenue from the Metro and highway system as the sole source of funding.

The proposed expansion would bring the system to a total of eight lines (including ISAP Line 1) with a total length of 220 km and serving 200 stations. In addition to small extensions to lines 1, 2, 3 and 4, the proposed expansion would consist of lines 5 (Ano Liosia - Vyronas), 6 (Melissia - Perama/Pireaus), and 7 (Chaidari - Alimos(Kalamaki)) which would cross the Attiki basin, passing through downtown Athens and line 8 as an incomplete circle around Athens (Katechaki - Sepolia - Kallithea - Dafni - Pangrati). However, recent publicity material[17] published by Attiko Metro S.A. indicate that those ambitious plans are curtailed. The new regulatory plan published on July 20, 2011 specifies a rapid transit (Metro) system which shall consist of only 4 lines. [1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Athens Urban Transport Network in Facts and Figures (pdf) page 15". OASA. www.oasa.gr. http://www.oasa.gr/pdf/FactsAndFigures_en.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-04. 
  2. ^ Law 2669/1988, Government Gazette Issue A 283/1998-12-18, Part 7, paragraph 2.
  3. ^ Law 3920, Government Gazette issue A-33, 2011-03-03.
  4. ^ Ministerial Decision 28737/2637, Government Gazette issue B-1454, 2011-06-17
  5. ^ a b "AMEL - Athens METRO operation:OPERATION". Amel.gr. 2009-02-14. http://www.amel.gr/index.php?id=22&L=1. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
  6. ^ "AMEL - Athens METRO operation:Flat fare tickets". Amel.gr. 2009-02-14. http://www.amel.gr/index.php?id=241&L=1#ticen90m. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
  7. ^ Law 2669/1988, Government Gazette Issue A 283/1998-12-18, Part 7, paragraphs 3 and 4.
  8. ^ "Extensions Under Construction". Athens Metro S.A.. www.ametro.gr. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927203513/http://www.ametro.gr/cgi-bin/showextens.cgi. Retrieved 2007-08-03. 
  9. ^ "Planned Extensions". Athens Metro S.A.. www.ametro.gr. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927203629/http://www.ametro.gr/cgi-bin/showfuture.cgi. Retrieved 2007-08-03. 
  10. ^ G. Nathenas, A. Kourbelis, T. Vlastos, S. Kourouzidis, V. Katsareas, P. Karamanis, A. Klonos, N. Kokkinos (2007) (in greek). Από τα Παμφορεία στο Μετρό. 2. Athens: Μίλητος (Militos). pp. 703–708. ISBN 978-960-8460-91-1. 
  11. ^ N. Sbarounis (December 2002). "Hybrid locomotives of Athens Metropolitan Network (Greek: Υβριδικές Ηλεκτράμαξες του Μητροπολιτικού Δικτύου Αθηνών)" (in Greek). Sidirotrohia (Greek: Σιδηροτροχιά) (23): 30–31. 
  12. ^ ATHENS METRO - Completion of the tender for the supply of 17 new trainsets for the Athens Metro (16/09/2009)
  13. ^ June 2008 issue of the free Attiko Metro magazine available in the stations
  14. ^ "AttikoMetro Inside". Ametro.gr. http://www.ametro.gr/page/default.asp?id=384&la=2. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
  15. ^ The future Metro extensions were incorporated into the New Regulatory Plan for Athens and Attica Prefecture
  16. ^ Map of future metro system
  17. ^ "Σχέδιο Ανάπτυξης Γραμμών Μετρό Αθήνας". http://www.ametro.gr/files/pdf/AM_Athens_Metro-map_gr.pdf. 

External links