Greek PM inaugurates key Athens-Piraeus metro line

The trip from the Athens city centre to the Port of Piraeus now takes only 26 minutes

Today, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inaugurated the new metro line, connecting Athens with the port of Piraeus. Greek authorities launched the extension of Line 3 with three new stations called "Maniatika" and "Piraeus" and the "Municipal Theater".

The extension was developed by the Attiko Metro A.E., in tandem with the Ministry of Culture, to accommodate all the heritage uncovered during development. In addition to the stations, the developers also built three new squares on street level to meet the growing pedestrian traffic expected at the new metro line.

Traffic benefits

One of the key points Prime Minister Mitsotakis made during his inaugural speech focused on the traffic benefits that the metro could provide. According to a press release by transit authorities, he explained that no substantial emission reductions could be achieved without cheap and fast alternatives to personal vehicles.

Moreover, he pointed out that now the trip from Athens’ city centre to the port of Piraeus which could previously take hours on congested Athenian streets is only 26 minutes long with the new metro.

Additionally, the line is also connected to Athens Airport, so would-be travellers can absolutely transport themselves via this transit route, straight to the sea. According to the Prime Minister, that route would take around 55 minutes.

Furthermore, due to citizens now having a cheap alternative to the car, authorities believe that this could lead to a drop in CO2 emissions. They estimate that the line would accommodate around 132,000 citizens a day, roughly equivalent to 23,000 cars taken off the road. This, they estimate would lead to a reduction of 70 tons of carbon dioxide daily.

The Prime Minister was quoted in a press statement, explaining: "The country's first port is getting the position it deserves, a position worthy of its rich history. Projects that have a great social sign, because mass transit serves all citizens, but primarily serves those citizens who have no possibility to move in another way, with a cheap ticket, safely."