ATHENS METRO – Commissioning of the extension to Egaleo

Statements made by the Minister of PEHODE, Mr. George Souflias

The extension to Egaleo was commissioned today and was handed over to the public. The  Minister  of  PEHODE  made  the  following  statements  with  regard  to  the  above:

“This is a very important day. The Metro  finally  unifies the western suburbs of Athens, which are neglected in terms of transport, with the remaining suburbs of the city.  Areas, cut-off in  terms  of  transport services and  underprivileged  to  a  great  extent  exhibiting  huge  traffic and environmental problems – such as Iera Odos and Thivon Str. – are now upgraded thanks to the Metro operation.

As  you  already  know, since  2004 that we assumed responsibility in the Ministry of PEHODE, we set the transportation services provided to the residents of the western suburbs as a priority, given that in these areas transport infrastructure projects need to be implemented more than anywhere else in Attica basin.

We  strictly  adhered  to  our  planning:

Today we hand over to the public three stations characterized by high aesthetics at the extension to Egaleo: KERAMEIKOS, ELAIONAS, EGALEO.

Next year, we will deliver to the public HAIDARI Station and subsequently two additional stations in the area of Peristeri: PERISTERI & ANTHOUPOLI Stations.

I wish to remind you that the tender for the extension of Line 3 from HAIDARI to PIRAEUS, which includes AGHIA VARVARA, KORYDALLOS and NIKAIA Stations, is currently in progress.

In 2004, we completed the construction of AGHIOS ANTONIOS Station and we handed it over to the public.

There  will  be  a  total  of  ten  Metro  Stations  in the western Athens. We make our commitment to implement projects in the “neglected suburbs” of Athens  come true. These projects do our daily life better and more human.

Let’s  see  what  the  benefits  from  the  construction  of  these  three  new  Stations  will  be  for  the  wider  area:

First of all, it is estimated that 80 000 passengers will be served on a daily basis. Thanks to the Metro system, it shall take only 7 minutes to cover the distance of 4.2km from Egaleo to Syntagma. The western suburbs of Athens  will be connected directly to ELEFTHERIOS  VENIZELOS  Airport. There  is  no  need  to  transfer!

The operation of the three new Metro Stations changes radically the image of the underprivileged regions of the Capital, such as ELEONAS). Suffices to say that the revealing of the archaeological finds in EGALEO and ELONAS Stations will certainly constitute a pole of attraction for thousands of Greek citizens and foreign visitors.

Dear Mayor, following your request we proceeded with the new configuration of Egaleo Square. Close to the said square, we will construct an underground parking facility of a capacity of 400 places for private vehicles and it will be subsequently configured into a large unified square. This  is  our  commitment. The  design  for  the  construction  of  the  parking  has  alredy  commenced  to be prepared. Similar parking facilities will be constructed in the area of the remaining two stations. As to KERAMIKOS, where a parking facility of a capacity of 300 places will be constructed, the Contractor will be appointed in June.

I would also like add that I am particularly satisfied – I could say that I am also proud – that we completed this project. I wish to remind you that this project was delivered to us at its initial stage with major delays, which were due to a series of archaeological, technical, and contractual problems quite difficult to be solved.

Not only have the problems of the past been solved, but we also managed to expedite the completion of the extension and to approach its commissioning date, with the assistance and hard work of Attiko Metro engineers and personnel and of all the employees of the Contracting Joint Venture, and those who predicted severe deviations from the time schedule are now contradicting themselves.

In addition, careful  management  on  the  part  of  ATTIKO  METRO  resulted  in the completion of the project without any cost overrun, thus contradicting those who foresaw calamities.

It is worth  drawing  our  attention  to  both  the  aesthetical and the technical aspect of the projects:
In technical terms, it is a significant project, with 4200 m. of double track tunnel. Suffices to say that for the construction of the project 700 000 c.m of excavation works were carried out!

The tunnel  boring  at  various  locations  of  the  project, mainly underneath Iera Odos was a major technical challenge. Indicatively, I can tell you that for the construction of the tunnel it was deemed necessary that the Metro pass underneath Kifissos river as and encounter the overlaying ancient wells in the area of Keramikos. Despite the technical difficulties, the construction was completed successfully, which is evidence for the construction competence and the experience that the Greek technical firms have acquired, as well as the efficiency and competence of ATTIKO METRO S.A. in difficult and complicated projects, such as the Athens Metro.

The  most important thing is that the three new Stations are characterized by high aesthetics, while their areas are of particular architectural layout. The impressive glass made vaults at the ceilings of the stations allow the diffusion of natural light, as well as all materials and architectural elements of each station complementing one another in harmony, compose an image of modern aesthetics and render all new three stations a reference point for the western suburbs.

If we also take into account the especially designed works of art to embellish each Station, as well as the particularly configured areas in which the most important archaeological finds will be revealed, I am sure that they will all be proud of the result of high aesthetics to face during their daily trips to and fro the western suburbs. At this point, allow me to congratulate three important Greek artists, Mr. Yiannis Bouteas, Mr, George Lasongas and Mrs. Opy Zouni, whose works of art will adorn the said stations – the first work of art already adorns KERAMIKOS Station.

However, the  Metro  projects  does  not  end  at  Egaleo. We  construct  the  extension of the Line to Haidari at  an  intensive  pace  and it will be ready at the end of 2008.

And the most important thing  is  that  the  further  extension  to  Piraeus, 8,2 km long with 7 modern stations, has already been initiated, and both the western suburbs and Piraeus  district will be served. I wish to stress that it was a conscious  decision  to  give priority to the said extension and not to extensions to other areas.

The tender  is  currently  in  progress  and  the  project  is  to  be  awarded  during the second semester of year 2007, provided that there will be no delays due to objections, appeals etc.  Upon implementation  of  the  said  extension, the  Athens  Metro  Line  3 will  be 50km long; Piraeus  will be its starting point and ELEFTHERIOS  VENIZELOS  Airport  its terminal station.

As a  total, taking  into  account  the  projects  currently  under  construction in Athens  & Thessaloniki  and those we already started to deliver, we double the length and the Metro Stations of the existing network.

Moreover, if  we  take  into  account  the extension from Haidari to Piraeus  under procurement, the front of Metro works in Greece  will be more than doubled as compared to the current Metro network.

We currently construct  the  largest  front  of  Metro  works  ever constructed in Greece, budgeted at 2 billion euros.

The Metro  is  the  most  important  transportation  means  for  the  upgrading  of  quality of life in the city and it will continue to be extended covering most of the areas in Attica  basin.  This will be also the case for the Thessaloniki Metro. Ina few words, we  work  based  on  a  schedule  with  a  high  sense  of  responsibility  in  order  to  make  the  citizens’ life  better.

I hope that you will  all  enjoy  the  project, we  hand it over and its operation may commence as of noon.”

LINE 3 EXTENSION TO EGALEO – PROJECT INFORMATION

• Three (3) stations
• Thirteen  (13) ventilation shafts
• 4,200 meters of double track NATM tunnel
• 520m. of  track  floating  slab  at  the  point  where  the  tunnel  passes  underneath  Keramikos  archaeological  site  and the facilities of 9.84 Radio station.
• 500 m. of  tunnel  to  provide  train  access  to  the  new  depot  in  Eleonas  under construction
• Excavations  : 700,000 cubic meters
• Shotcrete: 100, 000 cubic meters
• Reinforced concrete  (tunnels and stations): 170,000 cubic meters
• Granites: 15,000 square meters
• Marbles: 1,100 square meters
• Pebbles: 3,000 square meters
• False ceilings:  8,000 square meters
• Metal sheds: 700 square meters
• Slab paving of the surrounding area: 10,000 square meters
• Surfaces made of stainless steel: 3,500 square meters
• Handrails:  1,000 meters
• Eight (8) lifts
• Thirty six  (36) Escalators
• Eight  (8) 20KV /400V AC transformers of dry type of an overall power of 14,260 KVA
• Two  (2)  rectifier  transformers  20KV/750V DC of an overall power of  6,600 KVA.
• Twenty-six  (26) main  intake/exhaust  air  fans  of  an  overall  power  of  1,700 cubic meters/second.
• Two  hundred  and  nine  (209) 300 bar cylinders of fire extinguishing environment-friendly gas.
• PRCS-SCADA of (SCADA) 3,500 points.

STATION CHARACTERISTICS

KERAMIKOS STATION

KERAMIKOS Station is the first station of Line 3 extension to Egaleo and is located behind the area of Gazi, in the park surrounded by Triptolemou, Persefonis, Dekeleon and Voutadon Streets. The station has been constructed at a depth of 21 meters and has two entrances/exits; its west entrance is located atDekeleon Street  and the east entrance at Triptolemou Street. At the first level (concourse level), the station areas are spaciously arranged around the glass vault of the station ceiling. The fair-faced concrete, granites, glass-panels and steel structures used complement in a harmonious manner the architecture of KERAMIKOS Station.

ELEONAS STATION

ELEONAS Station is located at a depth of 26 meters underneathIera Odos street, at its intersection with Em. Papa Street. The interior area of the station is characterized by two impressive underground vaults, which mark the focal circulation point to and from the platform escalators. At the concourse level, one out of the two underground vaults ends to a cylindrical glass ceiling at street level, enabling thus the diffusion of light on the entire first level of the station. The shotcrete used on the platforms, alternating with smooth granite surfaces and the stainless steel details reveal the geometric elements of the area. At the street level, right above the station, the most significant finds of the archaeological excavation shall be displayed in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture.

EGALEO STATION

EGALEO Station is the terminal station of Line 3 extension from Monastiraki to Egaleo. This is an underground station with a central platform, constructed at a depth of approximately 20m underneath Iera Odos street, at the level of Estavromenos Square. EGALEO Station has two entrances: the northern entrance is located on Estavromenos Square, while the southern entrance is located on Al. Papanastasiou street. Natural light reaches the first level of the station, i.e. the concourse area and the ticketing offices. At Estavromenos Square  level, ATTIKO METRO, in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture, shall display the archaeological finds both at the square level and in specially configured showcases in the interior of the station.