Athens Airport station
Athens Airport Station Αεροδρόμιο | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opened | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Athens Airport Station is the train station that serves Athens International Airport.
History
The station opened in 2004. Although it was projected that only commuter rail would use the station, Attiko Metro (the company that used to manage the Athens Metro; merged with Tram S.A. to form STA.SY.) decided to extend line 3 to the airport. However, building new tracks was not economically viable, so the route would be served by dual-voltage 2nd Generation Trains and would share tracks with Proastiakos trains between a tunnel portal just after Doukissis Plakentias Station and the Airport. Because of the limited availability of these trains (7 in total), only 2 trains per hour reach the station, leaving the airport at the hour and every half hour from 06:30 to 22:30.[1]
The decision to extend metro line 3 to the Airport forced a change to the station design; metro trains have a higher floor than Proastiakos trains, so the central track had to be lowered. This is why initial services to the airport did not use any stations between Doukissis Plakentias and the airport. The intermediate stations did not have the tracks lowered; parts of the platforms were raised in 2006. After that all intermediate stations were used by both services, Proastiakos and the Athens Metro.
Athens Airport Station is the first and only train station in Greece that is not managed by GAIAOSE, a subsidiary of OSE, the national rail company. It is owned by the airport, which charges the train operating companies (Trainose, STA.SY.) fees to use it.
Platforms
Athens Airport Station has 2 Island Platforms and 3 Tracks. Track 1 is not used due to low traffic, Track 2 is used by the Metro, and Track 3 by Proastiakos. All trains terminate at this station.
Access
The railway station is immediately adjacent to the airport terminal, which is accessible by an elevated walkway.
Future Developments
As the airport's passenger numbers are rising, services may get denser and platform 1 could be used again. Moreover, for many years there have been plans to extend Proastiakos services to Rafina, a suburb of Athens and the third largest harbour of the city as well. Although original plans show the line branching off the main one after Pallini or Doukissis Plakentias Station, then running in a reserved-for-this-purpose median of the A64 Mount Hymmetus Ring Road and then extending to Rafina, recent plans have called for an extension of the line from the Airport. Such an extension would be shorter and less expensive to build, however, it has been unpopular due to the fact that the travelling time from and to Rafina will be longer and certain areas will not be served.
References
- ^ "Airport Routes". Urban Rail Transport SA. Retrieved 2 April 2016.