Athens Metro and the Economic Meltdown

July 2015 took me to down town Athens for the first time.  In the aftermath of financial meltdown and a never ending round of elections, who knew what I'd find?

I started with the train service (operated by Trainosem, Greek national railways) from the new international airport, to connect to the Metro Line 1 at Nerantziotissa.  The service winds it way round northern Athens every 20-30 minutes, and shares track with the half hourly service on Metro line 3 as far as Douk.Plekantias.  This was the most convenient route for my hotel, but as becanme evident not the way many tourists go or are advised to go.

There is a staffed ticket office at Athens airport.  There is basically only one ticket, which at 8 euros is a significant fare premium  to get to/from the airport (usual single fare is 1.20 euros).

Map of Athens Metro also showing the Trainose heavy rail line, in yellow.  Borrowed from Wikipedia.

Rolling stock used on the Trainose service from the airport looks decent - from a distance.  Memory escapes me as to what it was other than definitely being German!

Up close it is a lot rougher, lots of evidence of graffiti removal.

The Trainose Athens-Kiato railway from the airport is running in the median of the motorway network for much of its length.

Interchange to Metro Line 1 (dating from 1860s) is at Nerantziotissa.  There are separate ticket offices for the main line railway and the Metro - or were.  This is the main line ticket office now closed and plastered in notices of various sorts.

The whole station at Narantziotissa has a very unkept feel.  Here some ticket validators are missing on entry to the southbound metro platform.

A whiteboard serving no use whatsoever!

Rolling stock on Line 1 dates from the 1980s and 1990s and is in very poor visual condition.

Interiors and particularly windows on line 1 have a lot of graffiti.

Bodysides of line 1 trains are also heavily graffitied.

The station at Larissa is nicely decorated on several walls with images of Greek railways of days gone by.

Quite a simple range of tickets for travel outside of the airport premium. 60 cents child single, 1.20 euros adult single or a 4 euro day ticket.  With the option of buying up to 5 tickets.  Normally I'd admonish for such a poor range but at such low fares it seems entirely appropriate to be simple.  There are also weekly and longer season tickets availabke which i assume you'd need to use a ticket office for.

Not all Athens Metro stations are graffitied and grotty: this is Syntagma in central Athens.

Athens Metro lines 2 and 3 operate independantly from line 1, with different signalling systems and rolling stock.  Whilst some older style rolling stock. similar to line 1, is used, the majority of line 2 and 3 trains are modern smart units built by Hyundai-Rotem.

A different (older, early 2000s) style of Hyundai-Rotem train for Athens Metro lines 2 and 3.

The newest line 2/3 cars have illuminated car line diagrams showing the next stop.

  

The car line diagrams extenuate the fact that different stock operates on lines 2 and 3.  Note also the use of the Olympic rings on the tube map: I assume they have an exemption to do this as they are very closely protected trademark!

The usual interchange station for airport customers using the Trainosel service is at Douk. Plekantias, where you change from line 3 (not withstanding the half hourly through service on line 3 to the airport!).  As can be seen it is much more modern and welcoming at concourse level.

The waiting environment for the Trainose service is just as grim as everywhere else: a concrete box surrounded by motorway!

My visit was at the height of the Greek financial crisis.  However here is a cash machine with no queue, proving what the TV news reports show - long queues etc - is not reflected in reality.

Another ATM with no queue. Loadsamoney!

Pro- and anti- osterity protests outside parliament at Syntagma Square.

Graffiti though is everywhere in Athens!