Athens Metro Line 2 extensions to be postponed giving way for Line 4

Athens Metro Line 2 extension to Ilion municipality is expected to be postponed indefinitely, mainly due to the construction plans for Line 4. The tender for the new line between Galatsi and Katehaki as well as the necessity for the promotion of the remaining sections that will cover densely populated areas around Kifissias Ave. and Nea Ionia reaching Metro network on PAThE Motorway axis, haved created considerable setbacks for the implementation of other Metro projects in the city.

The first phase of Line 4 costs 1.8bn euros, while the total cost is estimated to soar up to 4bn euros. The first phase has secured funding from EIB (by 75%) and NSRF with the auctioning process being, on this stage, a matter of weeks. From that point and on, the Ministry of Infrastructure will search for additional capital and investors to secure another 2bn euros in order to implement the following 4 sections of the line. Given the fact that future NSRF packages are pretty doubtful, this search by the Ministry is completely justified and, essentially, “forced” by the market itself. So, based on this reasoning, the possibility of seeing Line 2 expanding towards the Western Suburbs of the capital soon, is getting significantly smaller.

A positive development though is the project’s steady and slow studies maturation, which has already started being carried out. The extension cost is estimated at 300 million euros and includes 3 new stations in the boundaries of Ilion municipality. The stations’ temporary names are: PALATIANI, ILION and AGIOS NIKOLAOS. The extension will be 4.5 km long and is expected to serve more than 60,000 passengers on a daily basis.

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

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