Doukissis Plakentias station

Commuters are in for three days of upheaval as public transport employees hold work stoppages as part of protest action timed to coincide with a general strike tomorrow and an austerity vote in Parliament on Thursday.

On Tuesday there will be no buses from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. while on Wednesday and Thursday buses will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The use of electronic tickets for Athens public transport will begin in August rather than on June 1, as pledged by Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis last month, as authorities intensify their efforts to set up the necessary infrastructure to support the scheme.

The Doukissis Plakentias metro station in northern Athens, the last stop on Line 3, will close at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night and not reopen until the following day.

The station is being closed to allow the installation of new barriers operating with electronic tickets, a system that is supposed to go into effect across the capital's public transportation network in the summer.

Workers at the Athens metro, the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) and the tram will hold a work stoppage Friday from 12 noon to 3 p.m. to protest new legislation that will allow the Athens Public Transport Organization (OASA) to make commercial use of stations and areas belonging to STASY, the operator of the capital's fixed-track public transport system.

Workers at the Athens metro, the Piraeus-Kifissia electric railway (ISAP) and the tram will hold a work stoppage Friday from 12 noon to 3 p.m. to protest new legislation that will allow the Athens Public Transport Organization (OASA) to make commercial use of stations and areas belonging to STASY, the operator of the capital's fixed-track public transport system.

The capital's busiest metro station, Syntagma, will be closed over the weekend and on Monday, February 20, to allow engineers to install the new ticket barriers that are being rolled out across the metro and electric railway network in Athens.

Under the fear of terrorist attacks, Greece’s independent privacy regulator, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA), gave the Athens metro company STASY permission to install security cameras inside 17 new metro trains serving lines 2 (Anthoupolis-Elliniko) and 3 (Agia Marina-Doukissis Plakentias – Airport).

Railway, Athens Metro and bus and trolley services will be disrupted on Friday, as workers will join the general strike and hold work stoppages for May 1 (Labour Day), a public holiday.

There are delays on Line 3 of the Athens metro after a passenger reportedly attempted to commit suicide at Doukissis Plakentias station.

Authorities said that the driver saw the young man fall onto the tracks and managed to stop the train in time.

Employees in the state and private sector were set to participate in a 24-hour general strike on Wednesday called by umbrella unions ADEDY and GSEE. The industrial action was expected to disrupt services and public transport.