STASY

Twenty-five years after it was hailed as a marvel of modern engineering, the Athens metro is showing distinct signs of wear and neglect, mainly stemming from insufficient maintenance and investments.

Athens' central Syntagma metro station reopened on Monday after a temporary closure for a school parade commemorating the October 28 national holiday, known as "Ochi Day," train operator STASY announced.

The station had been closed in the morning by police order, with trains bypassing it to ensure crowd safety during the national celebration.

Two Athens metro trains were evacuated after a fire broke out near Neratziotissa station in northern Attica on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire brigade was alerted at around 5 p.m. due to heavy smoke from the fire. The two trains on Line 1 (ISAP), heading toward the northern suburb of Kifissia, were stopped and evacuated, with passengers walking along the tracks to Irini station.

STASY, the company that operates the Athens metro and tram, plans to utilize the energy from the braking of trains on Metro Line 1 and its conversion from kinetic to electric.

Public transport will be disrupted on Wednesday due to the nationwide strike called by the Greek Civil Servants' Union (ADEDY) as part of protest mobilization over last week's deadly train collision at Tempe.

It is a "matter of time" to identify and arrest the two passengers who viciously attacked a metro station manager on Wednesday after he asked them to put on their mask, police sources said on Thursday.

According to the sources, their faces have been recorded clearly in the metro's CCTV cameras and officers are now focusing their investigation in the area of West Attica.

The Syntagma metro station will close down at 9.30 a.m. Sunday "at the suggestion of the police and to ensure the passengers' safety," metro operator Stasy (Urban Rail Transport SA) has announced.

An anti-migration rally will take place at Syntagma Square.

News that Athens transport authorities have transferred more than half of the ticket issuing machines on the capital's tram routes to metro and electric railway stations around the city to meet increased demand on the latter modes of transport has prompted an angry reaction by tram workers.

As of Thursday, old paper public transport tickets can no longer be used.

Commuters are now able to renew electronic 90-minute tickets at machines, as is the case with monthly passes.

Meanwhile electronic barriers will be activated on Monday so that no one without a ticket can get to train platforms.

"I'll never forget the moment I reached the top of Gibrena after a 2-and-a-half hour hike," says 17-year-old Haris, expressing the awe everyone in his group felt when they'd completed one of the most picturesque trails of the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park in Thrace, northen Greece.