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The Athens Metro is the underground public transport system of Athens, Greece, constructed by the Attiko Metro company (Αττικό Μετρό, literally 'Attican metro') and the ISAP (Ilektrikoi Sidirodromoi Athinon-Pireos) company (Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι Αθηνών-Πειραιώς "Athens - Piraeus Electric Railways").The Athens Metro is one of the most impressive underground Mass Transit systems in the world because of the many ancient buildings, ruins and artifacts discovered during the excavation works for several downtown stations. Most were carefully restored and are displayed within the stations, making the Metro system an everyday museum tour on the long and illustrious archaeological and historical past of the city. History Metro Line 1 was inaugurated on February 27 1869 as a steam train connecting Athens and Piraeus and was operated by Athens Piraeus Railway S.A. The line was electrified in 1904 and the operating company renamed to Athens Piraeus Electric Railway SA in 1976. Today, Line 1 reaches the suburb of Kifisia and is also known as the green line and the electric railway. Construction of Metro Lines 2 and 3 began in November 1991 to decrease traffic congestion and clean up the environment by reducing Athens' smog level. Lines 2 and 3, constructed by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated by Attiko Metro Operations Company S.A. and known as red and blue lines respectively, were inaugurated in 2000 and as of 2005 have 23 stations between them. Line 3 reached the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in the summer of 2004. All three Metro lines connect with Proastiakos, the Athens Suburban Railway and the tram system. List of stations of the Athens metro system List of stations in Line 1 (the green line) List of stations in Line 2 (the red line) List of stations in Line 3 (the blue line) Future expansions (according to Attiko Metro S.A.) The new stations are in bold. The year the station is expected to be given to ciculation is put between parentheses. * * Line 2 (red line) Anthoupoli - Elliniko Line 3 (blue line) Zea - Doukissis Plakentias - Airport Line 4 (orange line) Alsos Veikou - Maroussi (new line, planned) According to the Metro Development Study, 2 new lines should be constructed, actually branches of the existing lines: line 2 branch (Panepistimio - Alsos Veikou) and line 3 branch (Panormou - Maroussi). Recent investigation results though showed that a construction of an autonomous line would be preferable. The planned line is a result of the unification of the initially planned lines and the addition of some new station between Panepistimio, Evangelismos and Katehaki (instead of Panormou) stations. * Policies In order to maintain a safe, clean and pleasant environment in the Metro system, passengers entering its premises should be informed that the following activities are not allowed: Pets can be transported only inside special boxes (Law 3082/2002). The production of a validated ticket or a valid travel card is required inside the trains and in the Metro premises, beyond the validation machines (Laws 1214/1981, 2669/1998, 2801/2000). Passengers should not attempt to enter the trains after the buzzer has sounded. See also | |||||||
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