Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas announced a new contract for the first section of a new addition to the Athens metro on Thursday. The new route will be a u-shaped line linking the city’s western districts with the centre and the east. Implementation will start in the beginning of 2011.
The new line 4 will be 33 kilometres long and will begin in the western Athens district of Galatsi. It will pass through the city centre and the Evangelismos hospital station. It will then turn via Ilioupolis in the east and wrapp around to end at Lykovrisi in the north.
The Minister spoke after a meeting at Attiko Metro headquarters concerning additions to the network.
Reppas said the tender process for the first section of the new line will have ended at the start of 2011. Tenders for further extensions will be concluded by the middle of 2012.
These will be an extension from Veikou park to Perissos to link up with the ISAP overground electric railway. It will also include an extension from the Zografou area toward the districts of Vyronas and Hymettus, up to the borders of Ilioupolis. The main line from the Zografou area will continue on to Lykovrisi.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 3.3 billion euros, with one billion euros in funding from the European Investment Bank. For the remaining cost, efforst are being made to tap into funds available for boosting accessibility.
Reppas said that the new line will include 29 stations along its route and have an ultra modern network in which trains will be driver-less and remote operated.
Concerning other extensions to the existing metro network, the Minister said that outstanding problems with lawsuits will probably be resolved by the end of the year. Work on an extension of the line to Piraeus will be started then. The Agia Paraskevi metro station that is currently under construction is expected to be ready in December.
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