New Athens Metro Line to Alleviate Heavy Urban Traffic

The ambitious new Athens metro project is expected to be completed in 2029.

Construction of a new metro line in Athens, Line 4, is currently underway in what is the biggest infrastructure project in Greece at present.

The new line will consist of 15 stations on a U-shaped underground route of 13 kilometers of tunnels, located mostly in central Athens, with connections to both of the other two modern metro lines.

The project has a budget of 1.5 billion euros and will incorporate the latest metro technologies, including driverless Alstom Metropolis trains, 20 of which will be ordered.

Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are currently in operation, each excavating an average of 15 meters per day. The first is tunneling from the Katechaki intersection shaft towards the current Evangelismos metro station, and the other from the Veikou shaft.

The project is expected to be completed in 2029.

Around 340,000 commuters are expected to use Line 4 on a daily basis, while daily car trips are also expected to be reduced by 53,000. The projected figures point to yet another relief from heavy traffic in the greater Athens-Piraeus area, as the current metro system dramatically improved the situation in the area over the past 20 years.

From an environmental standpoint, carbon dioxide emissions are estimated to be reduced by 318 tons per day, and energy consumption is estimated at 1,216 megawatt-hours.