Athens Metro: In a few weeks the boring machine will start on line 4 [pics]

Photos from the assembly of the first of the two boring machines that will open the tunnel of Metro line 4 were posted by the president of Attiko Metro, Nikos Tachiaos.

As he mentioned, the boring machine, which will start its work in a few weeks, is being assembled in the well of Mesogeion Street, where the second Katehaki station will be built in the future, which will be included in the extension of the line to the north and at a depth of about 36 meters. It is recalled that from Katehaki, one of the two subway lines, which opened the first sections of Lines 2 and 3 of the Athens Metro, started 28 years ago, in 1994.

U-shaped borehole

“And so the time comes to start a U-shaped wormhole, which in some years will come to prove that there are also (time) shorter routes than those parallel to an imaginary straight line: Galatsi – Goudi in 17 minutes with the ultra-modern Metro Line 4.

15 new stations (Alsos Veikou, Galatsi, Helikonos, Kypseli, Dikastiria, Alexandras, Exarchia, Akadimia, Kolonaki, Evangelismos, Kaisariani, University, Zografou, Ilisia, Goudi), 12.8 kilometers of tunnel, 20 driverless trains that at peak times will pass through the stations every 90 seconds, thanks to an EU co-financed budget investment of close to 1.5 billion euros. They are the first phase of a major change in transportation in the urban complex of Athens.”

The benefits of the Line

With the completion of the construction of the first section, “Alsos Veikou – Goudi”, 340,000 passengers will travel on a daily basis while 53,000 cars will be “off” the roads.

Therefore, a reduction in pollutants is expected with the amount of CO2 that will not be released into the city’s atmosphere by passengers who will use the Metro instead of their cars, which is estimated at 318 tons/day.

Among the benefits of the project are the upgrading of the areas and the value of real estate – shops and the contribution to culture by carrying out an archaeological survey of a total area of 45,000 sq.m., while the urban renewals at the 15 stations of Line 4 will be 85,000 sq.m. and 3,000 tree plantings. More than 5,000 new jobs are expected to be created during the construction of the project.

Project innovations

One of the innovations of the project will be the installation and operation of automated doors on trains and platforms for the safety of passengers, as in the Thessaloniki Metro. This means that trains will enter the station, stop and the security gates will open along with the train doors. Technologically advanced signaling and train control system.

Also, the trains will be driverless, their operation will be controlled through the Control Center of Line 4, modern aesthetic trains made of environmentally friendly materials, almost fully recyclable.