The Athens metro system's Line 3 moved further north today with the opening of a station at Halandri. On Wednesday, the opening of the Doukissis Plakentias station will bring the total extension to 5.9 kilometers (3.7 miles).

Next weekend, airline passengers will be able to travel from Syntagma Square to the airport in 37 minutes when the metro emerges from its underground rails to continue on the suburban light rail line to the airport. The new stations also provide parking spaces for 580 cars.

«Linking the (metro and suburban) lines was complicated and difficult, a pioneering project for Europe,» said Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias, who inspected the stations yesterday, as well as the Katehaki station's pedestrian bridge designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.