Starting September 13, the Athens metro will be operating through the night on Saturdays, Greece’s Deputy Transport and Infrastructure Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis announced this week.

The extended 24-hour Saturday service aims to improve passenger safety, ease congestion, and offer more convenient travel options in the capital, particularly during peak tourism months. To support the service, the ministry has announced the recruitment of new employees while also making wage adjustments for existing staff.

The move, Kyranakis told SKAI TV, follows the successful pilot program introduced in July on Metro lines 2 and 3, tram lines T6 and T7, and selected bus routes and is part of a broader plan to enhance public transport efficiency while addressing safety concerns. He added that recent measures, including the installation of cameras, stricter road monitoring, tougher penalties for road violations, and highway upgrades, are aimed at reducing Greece’s persistently high road fatality rate.

At the same time, the deputy minister confirmed that Athens’ trolleybus system will gradually be phased out, with 100 newer models remaining in service on major avenues such as Kifissias and Syngrou. According to Kyranakis, the cost of maintaining the trolley network is double that of electric buses, making its continuation financially unsustainable.