Metro Line 4: Tunnel borers back to Athens

With the arrival of the two TBM machines in the fall, the countdown begins so that the subways can begin their underground journey to the capital in early 2023. Twenty-eight years since the arrival of the first subway in Athens for the opening of Lines 2 and 3, and in fact at Katehaki station, metro projects are accelerating again. The first phase of Line 4 paved the way for new extensions, with the first to the extension of Line 2 in the section “Anthoupolis – Ilion”.

The works for the start of the main project of Line 4, “Veikou Grove- Goudi”, which is the first new metro line in Athens after 20 years, are progressing at a fast pace. In fact, yesterday, during his first visit to the construction site of Katehaki, where one of the two TBM machines that will open the tunnel with a total length of 12.8 km will begin boring, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Costas Karamanlis, expressed great satisfaction that the project is moving ahead of schedule.

Two TBMs to arrive in autumn

The two state-of-the-art TBM machines, which will start working to open the Line 4 tunnel, will arrive in our country from Germany in October and November, after the factory tests are completed in the summer. Then, by the end of the year, they will be assembled in order to turn on the engines in early 2023. Also, in the fall, the construction of the well next to the 401 General Military Hospital will be completed, from where a metro line will start. The second will sink in the well of the Veikos Grove and the two will “meet” in Evangelismos.

For the lowering and assembly of the TBM, a well with dimensions of 45×20 meters and a depth of 36.5 meters is being constructed. The construction site during the construction phase will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that the first parts of the tunnel will have been opened at the beginning of 2023. The construction sites for the support and operation of the TBM, such as the foundation of the crane bridge (50 tons), have already started. This will be used to transport the prefabricated rings from the surface to the bottom of the well. Both machines are state of the art.

Next steps

.With the delivery, after the summer, of the last three stations (Maniatika, Piraeus, Municipal Theater) of the Piraeus extension, the chapter of the old batch of works of the Attiko Metro will be closed. The first bet, after the emblematic start of the works for the Line 4 “Veikou Grove – Goudi”, is for the tender for the extension of Line 2, in the section Anthoupolis – Ilion to be up for bidding by the end of the year

The project will include the construction of three new underground stations, in Palatiani, Ilion and Agios Nikolaos, with a double track tunnel with a total length of 4.1 km, as well as a triple track by-station after Agios Nikolaos, that will be 400 m long and have intermediate wells. The location of the extension is foreseen in the approved Master Plan of Attica of 2014 and it is estimated that it will serve 50,000 passengers per day. The construction of stations and tunnels will be done by the method of underground drilling with conventional means.

Technical adviser

For the fastest possible maturation of the project, Attiko Metro announced a tender for the recruitment of a technical consultant, with a budget of 59,485 euros without VAT. Based on the issues of the tender, the technical consultant undertakes the assistance of the competent management of Attiko Metro for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the extension of Line 2 to Ilion.

Based on the traffic forecasts on the road network of the area and the traffic forecasts over a 20-year horizon, with and without the operation of the project, it will assist with the elaboration of the models for estimation of gaseous pollutants and road noise with and without the operation of the project. He will also assess the effects on the construction phase of the project, while he will study the traffic regulations during the phase not only of construction, but also of operation, which will be integrated in the EIS.

Also, the subject of the technical consultant includes the assistance of the Strategic Development Department of Attiko Metro for the preparation of the study of ground-borne noise and vibrations during the operation of the project. The study should identify the locations of sensitive land uses to noise and vibration. The deadline for completion of the subject of the contract is 4 months. The deliverables will be submitted by the technical consultant to Attiko Metro initially for technical inspection and any corrections, and this will be followed by the process of approval of the studies and environmental licensing of the project by the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

At the same time, the design maturity for the future extensions of Line 4 is progressing, with priority to Maroussi and Northern Suburbs, areas with a large flow of commuters and a huge traffic load. Also, the Suburban Railway of West Attica is coming forward. A project with secured funding from the Recovery Fund, which, according to the planning of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, will be contracted next semester and will serve the areas from Ano Liossia to Megara. Respectively, the process of the Competitive Dialogue for the Expansion of the Suburban Railway eastward to the ports of Rafina and Lavrio, is progressing.