EXARCHIA STATION
Athens Metro New Line 4
Section A’ – AlsosVeikou-Goudi
In response to the information that has come to light after the commencement of works at EXARCHIA Station, ELLINIKO METRO S.A. hereby wishes to inform the public that tree pruning treatment activities – at a percentage of approximately 90% – are in progress within the existing worksite fencing; the subject activities concern trees that will be temporarily re-planted at the plant nursery of the Municipality of Athens, in accordance with the provisions of the Decision for the Approval of the Environmental Terms, as well as the suggestions and the supervision of the Greenery Division of the Municipality of Athens.
Subsequently, it will be ensured that these trees will grow, as required, and be re-planted by the Company ATHENS ANAPLASIS S.A. in green areas in the vicinity of Exarchia square, pursuant to the provisions of the Memorandum of Cooperation that has been signed among the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport, the Municipality of Athens, ELLINIKO METRO S.A. and the Company ATHENS ANAPLASIS S.A.
Moreover, in accordance with the Memorandum of Cooperation that has been signed among ELLINIKO METRO S.A., the Municipality of Athens and the Company ATHENS ANAPLASIS S.A., it is the first time in Greece that a decision was made for planting 2000 new trees at the initial phase of the Metro construction works; these trees will be planted at locations to be suggested by the Municipality of Athens and will be added to those that ELLINIKO METRO S.A. is under the obligation to plant, by virtue of the approved environmental permit of the project, in view of reinstating Exarchia square and maintaining environmental balance.
As regards the protection of the environment, Metro is the most environmental-friendly mode of transport in large cities. Upon its commissioning, 340,000 passengers/day will be served, 53,000 less vehicles/day will circulate, 17,000 less tons of carbon dioxide/year will be emitted and 1,216 MWh of energy will be saved on a daily basis.
When compiling the designs for the tendering of works concerning the redevelopment of squares, ELLINIKO METRO S.A. integrated structures, such as station entrances, lifts, ventilation shafts, staircases etc. into the squares’ initial landscape concept, preserving their dominant features, i.e. children playgrounds, fountains, statues/busts and, certainly, greenery, updating and retrofitting, at the same time, the entire equipment. In other words, ELLINIKO METRO S.A. respects the initial planning and enriches same with the requirements and the new input of the underground Metro station in the area. As regards Exarchia square, the aforesaid structures occupy less than 10% of the square surface. More specifically, at EXARCHIA Station the surface occupied by the Metro facilities will be 243,00m2 out of the total area of 2,984m2 of the square.
It should be stressed that the public consultation process for the project at hand was quite prolonged (it lasted for almost 8 months, from 02.02.2017 until 06.10.2017) and that during this period no objection was filed against the construction of the station at Exarchia square.
