A major expansion of the Greek capital’s subway network is facing growing resistance in one of Athens’s most densely populated neighborhoods, where residents say tunneling work has damaged apartment buildings and left them worried about the safety of their homes.
Residents of Kypseli, a crowded central Athens district known for its aging apartment blocks and multicultural population, gathered Saturday in the neighborhood’s main square to protest damage they associate with construction of Metro Line 4. Their message was stark: «We won’t pay for the Metro with our lives»
Residents say roughly 35 buildings have shown signs of damage, potentially affecting hundreds of apartments. Reported problems include cracks, ground settlement and structural deformation. They are demanding that inspections and repairs be completed before the tunnel-boring machine resumes work beneath the neighborhood.
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The dispute presents a challenge for Athens as it undertakes one of its biggest transportation projects in decades. Line 4 is designed to connect heavily populated areas that currently lack direct subway access and ease pressure on the existing network.
Greece’s Technical Chamber, the country’s statutory engineering body, has delivered preliminary assessments covering 14 buildings. The reports examine damage alongside measurements of ground settlement. Elliniko Metro, the state-owned company overseeing the project, says it is evaluating the findings and recommendations to determine what repairs and additional inspections are required.
Athens Mayor Haris Doukas, who attended Saturday’s demonstration, said serious problems had been identified in at least 14 apartment buildings and credited residents with bringing the issue to public attention.
Elliniko Metro has said planned restoration work will aim, at minimum, to ensure that affected buildings retain the structural capacity they had before the tunnel-boring machine passed nearby. Residents, however, are seeking access to the full technical data, structural assessments and monitoring measurements, as well as compensation for affected owners and tenants.
The Greek government has acknowledged that problems occurred during tunneling, shifting attention toward repairs and reinforcement.
