American travel guide Frommer’s included Athens subway among the Top-10 in the world and names it as one of the things worth seeing in the Greek capital.
In an article entitled “The World’s Best Subways: 10 Top Cities”, Frommer’s notes that “mastering public transportation is one way to feel less like a tourist and more like a local. What makes the world’s best subway, Metro, and Tube systems? Other than safety, cleanliness, and cost, it doesn’t hurt to have amenities like great architecture or underground shops and eateries. Bonus points if the transit stations aren’t too crowded or have endless staircases.“
Crowning achievements
In reference to the Athens subway, the article underlines that “one of the crowning achievements of this city’s Olympic bid was the creation of Attiko Metro, a system with stations housing archaeological exhibits and items that were uncovered while digging (walls, cisterns, urns, and even sarcophagi). Even if you don’t need to get to any of the 50-plus stations, it’s well worth a visit to Syntagma Square or Akropoli stations to see the relics or Ethniki Amyna station for more contemporary art installations. Though the trains aren’t that modern or efficient, the visual surroundings make it all worthwhile”.
The article also mentions that a single ticket is €1.20, a daily ticket is €4, a ticket from the airport is €8 and refers for more information to: www.ametro.gr
In the same Top-10 list, the travel guide includes the Moscow Metro (one of the oldest and, arguably, the most brilliant of the world), London, Stockholm, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong and Beijing. Frommer’s was founded in 1957 and has published more than 350 travel guides selling 75 million copies worldwide.
Historical data
The construction of the Athens Metro began in 1992 and the first two lines were delivered in January 2000: Line 2 “Syntagma-Sepolia” and Line 3 “Ethniki Amyna-Syntagma”. Today, the subway’s two lines measure a total length of 59.7 km. (Including 20.7 km. From the suburban line station Doukissis Plakentias to the Airport) and includes 40 stations (four in joint use with the “Proastiakos” Suburban Railways).
Every day, about 938,000 passengers ride lines 2 and 3 of Metro, while Line 1 of the ISAP (length 25.6 km with 24 stations) serves 460,000 passengers respectively. The extension of Line 3 to Piraeus, 7.6 km. of tunnels and six new stations are under construction.
