An ambitious new Athens subway project – a U-shaped underground route spanning 13 kilometres of tunnels called Line 4 – will alleviate the city’s heavy urban traffic woes upon its anticipated completion in 2029. It is the largest infrastructure project of its kind in Greece.
With a substantial budget of 1.5 billion euros, the new line will incorporate cutting-edge metro technologies, including 20 driverless Alstom Metropolis trains. Two tunnel boring machines are excavating an average of 15 metres daily, tuning from the Katechaki intersection shaft towards the current Evangelismos metro station and the Veikou shaft.
Upon completion, Line 4 will boast 15 stations strategically located in central Athens, seamlessly connecting to the city’s two existing modern metro lines: it will likely attract 340,000 daily commuters, reducing daily car trips by an estimated 53,000.
The project’s environmental impact will be profound, with a remarkable reduction of 318 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per day and an energy consumption of 1,216 megawatt-hours. This endeavour promises to alleviate further the heavy traffic congestion that has plagued the greater Athens-Piraeus area, building upon the substantial improvements brought about by the city’s current metro system over the past two decades.
