Athens Tram

Athens Tram began its operations in 1882 with horse tramways. After 1908, the metre gauge tram network was electrified and was extended to 21 lines.[1] The original Athens tram system ceased operations in 1960 and was replaced by trolleybuses and motorbuses.[1] A standard gauge tram system was built along the perimeter of Piraeus Harbour by the Hellenic Electric Railways.

In March 2001, Tram S.A. was established as a public utility company under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as a subsidiary company of Attiko Metro S.A., the state company which developed the Athens Metro network.[1][6] The company started the construction of the initial network in the beginning of 2002, and was opened by Michalis Liapis (Minister for Transport and Communications) on 19 July 2004, a few weeks prior to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[7] The construction of the tram network was financed by the Third European Regional Development Fund and Greek state funds.[1]

In March 2011, the Greek Government passed Law 3920 to allow ISAP and Tram S.A. to be absorbed by AMEL.[8] The resulting company was renamed STASY S.A. (Greek: ΣΤΑΣΥ Α.Ε.) and is a subsidiary of OASA S.A. The merger was officially announced on June 10, 2011.[9]

From 19 October 2018 to 20 November 2020, tram services were suspended between Syntagma and Kasomouli, due to concerns over subsidence in the underground riverbed of the Ilisos:[10][11][12] services from Stadio Irinis & Filias to Edem and Mousson were also suspended from 16 March 2020 to 21 January 2021, due to realignment works associated with the Faliro Waterfront regeneration project.[13]

The first extension of the Athens Tram, consisting of a single-stop 700-metre (2,300 ft) line from Kolymvitirio to Asklepieio Voulas in North Voula, opened on 15 November 2007.[14]

The second extension consists of a one-way loop from Stadio Irinis & Filias to Akti Poseidonos, along with twelve new stops: construction work started in 2013, and the first test run of the extension took place on 7 February 2019.[15][16] From 28 November 2019, trams heading towards Faliro terminated at Gipedo Karaiskaki instead of Stadio Irinis & Filias, before running out of service towards Akti Poseidonos.[17] The loop opened to the public on 15 December 2021, with Agia Triada as the provisional terminus for Line 7.[18][15] The final terminus of the extension, Akti Poseidonos, is not yet open as of September 2022.[19]

Route map showing the three original Athens Tram lines.

The Athens Tram currently consists two routes, Lines 6 and 7:

• Line 6 starts at Syntagma Square in Central Athens, and runs south west towards the coast, before turning south east at the junction of Poseidonos Avenue and Achilleos towards Pikrodafni in Kalamaki.
• Line 7 starts at Asklepieio Voulas in Voula, running north west along the coast towards Agia Triada in Piraeus, operating in a one-way loop west of Neo Faliro.[15]

Lines 6 and 7 (also known occasionally as T6 and T7 respectively)[25] were introduced on 6 December 2021, replacing Lines 3, 4 and 5.[26] Line 7 was extended from Stadio Irinis & Filias to Agia Triada on 15 December the same year.[18] The two lines share tram tracks from Pikrodafni to the junction of Poseidonos Avenue and Achilleos.

Athens Tram routes

Line	Coloura	Opening date	Last extended	Length	Route	Stops
	Green	2004	2004	18.2 km (11.3 mi)	Syntagma – Pikrodafni	19
	Green	2004	2021	16.1 km (10.0 mi)	Agia Triada – Asklepieio Voulas	42

The present Athens Tram opened with five lines, which were named after ancient Greeks: Aristophanes (Line 1), Aeschylus (Line 2), Thucydides (Line 3), Aristotle (Line 4), and Plato (Line 5). Line 3 ran between Stadio Irinis & Filias (SEF) and Kolymvitirio, Line 4 ran between Syntagma and SEF, and Line 5 ran between Syntagma and Kolymvitirio.[27] Lines 1 and 2 were shortened versions of Lines 4 and 5 respectively, terminating at Leoforos Vouliagmenis instead of Syntagma: Lines 1 and 2 were discontinued in early-2005.[27][28]

Lines 3 and 5 were extended to Asklepieio Voulas on 15 November 2007.[14] From 28 November 2019, westbound trams of Lines 3 and 4 terminated at Gipedo Karaiskaki instead of Stadio Irinis & Filias.[17]

Former Athens Tram routes

Line	Colour[lower-alpha 1]	Opening date	Last extended	Length	Route	Stops
	Red	2004	—	18.0 km (11.2 mi)	Stadio Irinis & Filias – Leoforos Vouliagmenis	26
	Green	2004	—	16.6 km (10.3 mi)	Leoforos Vouliagmenis – Kolymvitirio	35
	Blue	2004	2007	21.5 km (13.4 mi)	Stadio Irinis & Filias – Asklepieio Voulas	31
	Red	2004	—	19.6 km (12.2 mi)	Stadio Irinis & Filias – Syntagma	28
	Green	2004	2007	18.2 km (11.3 mi)	Syntagma – Asklepieio Voulas	37

Since December 2021, the system consists of 59 tram stops: one additional stop, Akti Poseidonos on the western end of the Piraeus branch, is complete but not yet open. A majority of the stops are within the South and Central Athens regional units: thirteen are in Piraeus, and one is in Voula.