Code: Athens!

Bearing in mind the major political, social and economic challenges Greece currently faces, there is a clear need for new ideas, methods and instruments in order to achieve sustainable development. This is particularly true for the domain of spatial sustainability.
Thus, it was the focal point of the project concerned with Stathmos Larissis, i.e. Athens central railway station. This railway node was chosen for several reasons. At a global level, Athens central railway station is the southern gateway to the “Orient/East-Med Corridor” (previously “EU Corridor 22”) connecting Hamburg to Athens. At the regional level, it is the main node along the PATHE (Patras - Athens - Thessaloniki) corridor. However, there are many challenges when it comes to the improvement of the station’s conditions both in terms of the station itself and its catchment area. Namely, the infrastructure should be upgraded with an electrified connection to SKA station (the northern gateway of Athens) and the passenger port of Piraeus. Hence, the link from Stathmos Larrisis via SKA to Piraeus forms a corridor that has strategic importance for the future development of Athens.
The planning chairs of ETH Zürich, the Technical University of Athens and the University of Patras have therefore started an initiative to gather new ideas for possible solutions. Based on a preparatory meeting held in Zürich in September 2014, the main content outline for the international symposium “Rail & City Development” was formulated. The symposium was held in Athens in April 2015 with the primary purpose to stimulate public debate on the challenging situation in Athens. Finally, in June 2015, during a joint seminar week, the students from the mentioned universities explored new ideas for the further development of the railway corridor in Athens.


Partner
Professor Albert Speer-Stiftung

Project duration
May 2014 - December 2015