Piraeus becomes the new terminal of Athens Suburban Railway and changes the scenery

We are just a few days away from a great transformation of Athens Suburban Railway. From February 1^st, according to a statement of Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Mr. Spirtzis, during an interview at CNN Greece, all itineraries will have a new starting point, i.e. the Port of Piraeus. But what kind of benefits this change is expected to bring along?

This change will finally bring the long-desired direct connection of the Port, the centre of Athens and the Airport in a reasonable, 60 minutes time, which is expected to have an important, positive impact in the cruise sector. The country’s main portals: Piraeus Port and Athens International Airport will be directly connected, “feeding” each other with vital touristic traffic.

The Port will also ensure a direct connection with Peloponnese (towards Kiato and, in the near future, towards the city of Patra) and Western Attica providing swift access to the ship routes. It is noteworthy that, with the new desing, a passenger starting from Kifissia will be needing roughly the same time as a passenger starting from Kiato (current terminal of Athens Suburban Railway in Korinthia Prefecture).

Itineraries within the urban section of Athens Suburban Railway will become much more frequent. More specifically, Piraeus-Acharnes Railway Centre (SKA) and Acharnes Railway Centre (SKA)-Koropi sections will be served up to every 15-20 minutes during peak hours, as opposed to once every 1 hour, that is valid today.

This, of course, also means that a new design of the bus routes should follow for the optimization of the current services and passenger flows, given the introduction of the new operation model in Athens Suburban Railway network, which emerges as a solid and reliable means of fixed-rail transport in the city.

It is worth mentioning that the consolidation and increase of Athens Suburban Railway also brings great environmental benefits, as electric trains are much eco-friendlier and do not emit air pollutants, thus contributing to a more sustainable urban development model for the Greek capital.

With regard to the ticket price of the services, as far as the urban section is concerned, the existing price policy will apply: 1.40 euros for a 90-minute pass to all urban means of transport, Mr. Spirtzis explained. For that purpose, TRAINOSE will establish a ticketing system compatible with the newly-introduced e-ticket of TfA (Transport for Athens).

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com

Follow Nikos Karagiannis on Twitter