Athens is a major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean and it is both the capital and the largest city of Greece. With its urban area's population numbering over three million, it is also the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. Athens dominates and is the capital of the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. The city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.
Transport in Greece has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure and transportation. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nation's islands, improvements to the road infrastructure, rail, urban transport, and airports have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Greece's economy, which in the past decade has come to rely heavily on the construction industry.
Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, commonly initialised as AIA, is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and region of Attica. It began operation on 28 March 2001 and is the main base of Aegean Airlines, as well as other smaller Greek airlines. It replaced the old Ellinikon International Airport.
The Athens Metro is a rapid-transit system in Greece which serves the Athens urban area. Line 1 opened as a single-track conventional steam railway in 1869 and electrified in 1904. In 1991, Elliniko Metro S.A. constructed and extended Lines 2 and 3. It has significantly changed Athens by providing a much-needed solution to the city's traffic and air pollution problem, as well as revitalising many of the areas it serves. Extensions of existing lines are under development or tender, like Line 2 extension to Ilion where the tender started in 2023, as well as a new Line 4, whose central section began construction in October 2021. The Athens Metro is actively connected with the other means of public transport, such as buses, trolleys, the Athens Tram and the Athens Suburban Railway. The Athens Metro is hailed for its modernity and many of its stations feature works of art, exhibitions and displays of the archaeological remains found during its construction. Photography and video-taking is permitted across the whole network and street photographers often work in Athens Metro. This is the only metro system in Greece, until the Thessaloniki Metro begins operation in 2024.
Thessaloniki Airport, officially Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia" and formerly Mikra Airport, is an international airport serving Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece. It is located 13 km (8 mi) southeast of the city, in Thermi.
The Proastiakos is Greece's Commuter rail service, run by Hellenic Train, on rail infrastructure owned by the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) (lines) and GAIAOSE. These services connect a participating city's central railway station to important locations such as a city's port or airport, as well as its suburbs and occasionally nearby towns and cities.
Doukissis Plakentias, sometimes known simply as Plakentias, is an Athens Metro and Suburban Railway station situated at the end of Doukissis Plakentias Avenue in Chalandri, a municipality in the regional unit of North Athens, Attica, Greece. It is named after the Duchess of Plaisance, a philhellene who owned much of the land in the part of Attica where the station now stands. The metro station lies underground, while the Suburban Railway station lies within the median strip of the Attiki Odos motorway.
The Acharnes Railway Center or SKA is a two-level railway station in the northern parts of the Athens agglomeration, in the suburb of Acharnes, where several important railway lines converge. It is an important passenger interchange station linking The main Piraeus–Platy railway line from Athens Central to Thessaloniki and the Athens Airport–Patras railway. The station opened in April 2011.
Rail transport in Greece has a history which began in 1869, with the completion of the then Athens & Piraeus Railway. From the 1880s to the 1920s, the majority of the network was built, reaching its heyday in 1940. From the 1950s onward, the railway system entered a period of decline, culminating in the service cuts of 2011. Ever since the 1990s, the network has been steadily modernized, but still remains smaller than its peak length. The operation of the Greek railway network is split between the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), which owns and maintains the rail infrastructure; GAIAOSE, which owns the building infrastructure and the former OSE rolling stock, Hellenic Train; and other private companies that run the trains on the network. Greece is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Greece is 73.
The Port of Piraeus is the chief sea port of Athens, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe.
Ano Liosia is a train station in Ano Liosia, a western suburb in the municipality of Fyli, West Attica, Attica, Greece. It is located in the median strip of the Attiki Odos motorway, and has a single island platform. The station is the western terminus of Line 4 of the Athens Suburban Railway to and from Athens Airport. It is also served by Line 2 between Piraeus and Kiato. it sits a 700 meaters from Zefyri, or a 2 min train ride.
The Thessaloniki railway station, or Thessaloniki railway station is the main central passenger railway station and terminal of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. It is located in the central quarter of Xirokrini on Monastiriou Street and was inaugurated on 12 June 1961, the passenger station replaced the older and much smaller passenger station which now handles the city's cargo rail, hence the "new" sometimes used in the name.
Public transport in Athens comprises a bus network, various rail systems, funiculars, and maritime services to serve the more than 4 million inhabitants of the city spread over an area of 2928 km2.
The Athens Suburban Railway, is a five-line Proastiakos commuter rail service that connects the city of Athens with its metropolitan area and other regions beyond Attica, including Corinthia, Boeotia, Euboea and Achaea.
Intercity Bus Station of Thessaloniki "Macedonia", also known as the KTEL Macedonia Intercity Bus station, is the main bus station of Thessaloniki, Greece and the largest bus terminal in Greece. It is located just 5km from the city center in Menemeni. Construction began in October 1996 and it was opened to the public in September 2002. It serves about 20 to 25 thousand passengers and 800 coaches departures per day to various cities all over Greece, as well as some routes to Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Germany and Turkey. It is connected with the rest of the city via OASTH, which operates about 120 buses per hour. The company, which operates the buses and owns the station is named KTEL. This terminal serves 40 KTEL routes, as well as some other bus lines internationally.
Elaionas is a neighborhood in Central Athens, Greece. It is an industrial area and one of the most deprived areas of the municipality of Athens.
Athens "Liosion" Bus Station also known as KTEL Liosion Bus Station is the second busiest bus station in Athens. It is located in Patisia in Athens Municipality. There are routes to Central Greece, Thessaly, Pieria. There are a lot of passengers that use the Bus Station and it is the second largest bus station in Athens after Athens Kifissos Bus Station. 5 million passengers travel to Central Greece and Thessaly via this bus station. The busiest route is to Chalkida. There are routes per 30 minutes. There are new plans to build a bus station in Elaionas, Athens that will serve all routes of the entire nation. The new Bus Station will open in 2026.
Patras Bus Station also known as KTEL Achaias bus station, is the third largest Bus Station in Greece after Athens Kifissos Bus Station and Thessaloniki Macedonia Bus Station. The bus station opened in 1976 in the city center of Patras in the opposite side of the port. The bus station is close to Patras Railway Station. It is connected with Patras Bus Organisation which serves bus routes in the whole city. KTEL Achaias has a hub in the bus station. Due to its small terminal, other routes such as to Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Corfu, Trikala, Lefkada are served from other stations on Othonos Amalias Avenue. A new bus station is under construction in Agios Dionisios in Patras, 200 m (660 ft) away from the present station. It will open in early 2023.
Xylokastro railway station is a station in Xylokastro, a seaside town in Corinthia, Greece. It is located just south of Xylokastro, close to the Olimpia Odos motorway. It was opened on 22 June 2020 as part of the €848-million ErgOSE project extension of the Athens Airport–Patras railway to Aigio rail line, co-financed by the European Union's Cohesion Fund 2000–2006. The station is served by Line 5 of the Athens Suburban Railway between Kiato and Aigio. It should not be confused with the now-closed station on the old Piraeus–Patras railway, which is located northeast of the current station, closer to the coast of the Corinthian Gulf.
Megara railway station is a station in the municipal unit of Magoula of the municipality of Elefsina, West Attica, Greece. It is located adjacent to A8 motorway between Athens and Patras. It was opened on 18 July 2006 as part of the extension of the Athens Airport–Patras railway to Corinth It has two side platforms and a siding. The station is served by Line 2 of the Athens Suburban Railway between Piraeus and Kiato. The station has a similar design to Ano Liosia railway station. The station serves the adjacent Thriasio hospital.
