The first part of a project to extend the suburban railway, built for the Athens Olympics, will be completed in May, rail officials told Kathimerini yesterday.

The railway currently runs from the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport to Larissa Station in the capital but will be extended to Corinth by May 2005. “Tests on the new line will start in January and in five months the work will be completed and it will be opened to the public,” said Makis Papageorgiou, managing director of the railway.

One train an hour will run between the airport and Corinth, with a journey time of 58 minutes, and another will travel between Corinth and the Acharnes railway hub in Athens, taking 45 minutes. Services will be more frequent during busy periods of the year. Ticket prices have not been finalized. The next stretch to be developed will be the Corinth-Kiato line, which should be completed by the end of 2006. An extension to Halkida, north of Athens, is expected to be ready by spring 2006 and a further lengthening of the line to Thebes will be finished by December 2006.