Athens Airport Station ( Rail & Metro ) | Greece | 15/11/23

Athens Airport (Greek: Αεροδρόμιο, Aerodromio), also known as Athens International Airport (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών, Diethnis Aerolimenas Athinon) on signage, is a railway station and metro station that serves the international airport of Athens, Greece. It operates on both the Athens Suburban Railway as well as Line 3 of the Athens Metro. It is the first and only train station in Greece that is not managed by Gaiose. It is owned by the airport, which charges the train operating companies (Hellenic Train and STASY) fees to use it.
History
The station opened on 30 July 2004, two weeks before the Athens Olympics. Although it was projected that only commuter rail would use the station, the Athens Metro operating company decided to extend Line 3 to the airport. However, building new tracks was not economically viable, so the route would be served by dual-voltage second-generation trains and would share tracks with Suburban Railway trains between Doukissis Plakentias station and the airport. Because of the limited availability of these trains (7 in total), only 1 or 2 per hour reach the station, leaving the airport every 36 minutes from 06:10 to 23:34.
The decision to extend Line 3 to the airport forced a change to the station design; Metro trains have a higher floor than Suburban Railway trains, so the central track had to be lowered. This is why initial services to the airport did not use any stations between Doukissis Plakentias and the airport. The intermediate stations did not have the tracks lowered; parts of the platforms were raised in 2006. Since then, all intermediate stations have been used by both services.
Platforms
Athens Airport Station has two island platforms and three tracks. Track 1 is not used due to low traffic, Track 2 is used by the Metro, and Track 3 is used by the Suburban Railway. All trains terminate at this station.
Access
The railway station is immediately adjacent to the airport terminal, accessible by an elevated walkway. Because of the additional cost of using the station, there is a surcharge for passengers entering or exiting the airport. As of 2023, the base fare to the airport is €9, with varying prices for round trips or groups.
Services
Since 27 September 2022, the following weekday services call at this station:
Athens Suburban Railway Line A1 to Piraeus, with up to one train per hour;
Athens Suburban Railway Line A2 to Ano Liosia, with up to one train per hour: during the peak hours, there is one extra train per hour that terminates at Paiania-Kantza instead of the Airport;
Athens Metro Line 3 towards Dimotiko Theatro, with up to one train every 36 minutes.
Future developments
As the airport's passenger numbers are rising, services may get denser and Track 1 could be used again. Moreover, for many years there have been plans to extend Suburban Railway services to Rafina, a suburb of Athens and the third largest harbour of the city as well. Although original plans show the line branching off the main one after Pallini or Doukissis Plakentias Station, then running in a reserved-for-this-purpose median of the A64 Mount Hymmetus Ring Road and then extending to Rafina, recent plans have called for an extension of the line from the Airport. Such an extension would be shorter and less expensive to build, however, it has been unpopular due to the fact that the travelling time from and to Rafina will be longer and certain areas will not be served.

[@Freelancersupravat]

Nice!

[@MetroMark]

Thank you

[@markharris1125]

That was very useful, thank you.
Could I ask your advice? I'm going to Athens next week for the first time. My hotel is just off Monastiraki so I'd like to use the Metro, but my flight isn't due to land until 21.55. The last train is half past eleven.
I have a bit of arthritis and can't walk too fast, and besides, I don't want to rush and get in a panic. How long does it take to get from passport control to the Metro platform?
I'm thinking, after watching a number of videos, that if I'm out of passport control by 10.40-45, I'm probably okay to go for the Metro. Eleven o'clock, forget it.
I'd hate to go all that way to the Metro and find I've missed the train and have to go all the way back. It's all Ryanair's fault, was originally supposed to land about 4pm.
Thanks!

[@MetroMark]

I remember, it took me about 20 minutes to get through the airport. Then the metro station is across the street, to the left, up the escalator, then across that walkway. Then you're in the station. So it's not far.
This is me arriving and making my way through the airport, if that's useful
czcams.com/video/i_JdvbChDDY/video.htmlsi=pxEScVHW7Bt2V__i
And maybe this version about taking the metro from the airport might be helpful
czcams.com/video/Jmspejf_BQQ/video.htmlsi=lsvlJVIo9k-NHt8-

[@markharris1125]

@@MetroMark Hi, sorry for not thanking you for the reply! That was informative. I'm just thinking, I'm going to want to buy something to eat at that shop in the airport, so I'm just going to play it by ear. I suspect I'll be on the bus. As I said, the last thing I want to do is be in a rush.

[@Pan472]

What did you think of the metro network as a whole?

[@MetroMark]

Very efficient. Quite busy at times, but not horrendously so. The network is extensive. I got to everywhere I needed to by using the metro

[@Pan472]

@@MetroMark Yeah, it gets quite busy, especially in the mornings and evenings around 8-9 and 17-18:00 respectively, it gets mad crowds. How about the frequency of trains (excepting Airport trains)?

[@MetroMark]

@@Pan472 It never felt like I was waiting very long for a metro

[@Pan472]

@@MetroMark Oh that's great... Many times trains come every 2 minutes. The issue at times however is that they put this frequency in non-rush hours as well, while in rush hours, they can put trains up to every 5-6 minutes.