Incidents of delays caused in the routes of Athens Metro are becoming more and more frequent, with the most frequent focus on line 3. On Monday morning, delays were noted on the line in combination with overcrowding at Syntagma station in central Athens. The stationmaster even proceeded to stop the escalator for safety reasons due to the significant number of passengers waiting at the platform, a measure taken in exceptional circumstances.
From the side of managing company STASY, the problem was attributed to the large number of passengers who used the station during peak hours, while no damage or malfunction was recorded in a train. The large number of passengers trying to enter the trains created delays in departures from Syntagma station that extended throughout the line.
Passengers also faced problems with their travel on line 3 on the afternoon of last Friday, October 17. From 18:00 and for about two hours, significant delays were noted in the routes, especially in the direction towards the Airport, with trains waiting for a long time at each station. STASY also did not record any damage to a train that could have caused a problem.
Although similar problems are not unprecedented in the Metro network, the risk that they will increase over time is real.
According to data of OASA, the transport organization for Athens, between 2023 and 2024 there was a decrease in the routes operated on lines 2 and 3 of the Metro by -7%, while the vehicle kilometers operated decreased by -7.8%. At the same time, however, the number of passengers on the lines increased, with boarding reaching 170 million from 158.6 million a year earlier.
These are passenger traffic levels lower than in 2019 (although the extension to Piraeus has been in operation since then), however, the trend of increasing passengers is expected to continue, but without being accompanied by a corresponding increase in routes. In this way, the possibility of crowding phenomena increases, especially during peak hours, which may also lead to route delays, especially if this coincides with another unforeseen event (e.g. a breakdown in a train that must be withdrawn).
However, the service of Metro passengers is not only degraded during peak hours (7:00-10:00 in the morning) when routes run every 4 minutes on line 3, according to the official timetable. In particular, those who travel after sunset on weekdays are faced with weekend frequencies, with trains passing every 7-8 minutes after 21:00 and every 9 minutes from 22:00 until the end of traffic.
Athens Transport website comments that “STASY and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport must intensify efforts to strengthen the transport project in the Metro, through staff reinforcement, reconstruction of trains that remain immobilized to this day, as well as the supply of new trains, including intercity trains that will be able to operate routes to and from the Airport.”
Otherwise, it is almost certain that overcrowding and delays on the routes will become permanent over time, degrading the medium which in recent years has taken some “respite” both due to the intensification of maintenance and repairs of damage to trains that had been pending for years, as well as the reduction in passenger traffic which is now being reversed.
The 24-hour operation of the Metro every Saturday night was clearly a positive initiative that should be permanent. However, the medium also needs reinforcements on weekdays before it becomes synonymous with inconvenience for passengers.
source: athenstransport.com
*thumbnail: Metro Station
