The Athens-based Olympian Press Agency (OPA) reports that the “long-envisaged” suburban rail line in the greater Athens area will be ready and linked to the new Eleftherios Venizelos airport, east of Athens, by the start of the 2004 Athens Summer Games.
Greek Transport Minister Christos Verelis said trains from the new Athens Metro will use the proposed suburban rail line from the Stavro intersection, in the northeast of Athens, to the new airport at the Spata site.
OPA reports that a memorandum of cooperation is in place with the state-run Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramangas to acquire hi-tech rolling stock for the rail line, as the government has promised an electrically driven mass transit system leaving open the option of using diesel engines for the airport portion during the Games. The latter solution would conceivably guarantee that the project is operational in time for the Games, whereas a compatible dual system (diesel and electricity) is serious under consideration as well.
Meanwhile, according to OPA, following the latest meeting of the interministerial committee monitoring the progress of the Games preparations, it was announced that the railway will “most likely” use diesel train engines, despite the warning of IOC officials that, compared to electric trains, they would be slower, carry fewer passengers and would pollute.
OPA says it now appears that the electrification of the suburban railway line is unlikely to be completed on time and that, in the interim, diesel engines will be used. At the same time the committee decided that the Athens Metro carriages will be able to use the suburban railway lines.
Transport Minister Christos Verelis said that 2,500 new buses and 325 new trolleys will circulate in Athens, making the city’s bus fleet “the best in Europe”.
Also, the Council of State rapporteurs has rejected appeals lodged against two planned Olympic projects.
The objections concerned the construction of a weightlifting stadium with the projected audience capacity of 5,000, and Alimos municipal officials and representatives of local groups were told that their appeal was groundless.
