Piraeus halts tram in tracks
The tram has found friends hard to come by and although it is nearly two years since it returned to Athens after a break of some 40 years, Piraeus officials were adamant yesterday that they do not want it running down their streets. The Piraeus municipal council met yesterday and, after a lengthy debate, decided to reject plans to extend the tramline from Neo Faliron to the port. The prefectural council reached the same verdict last week. Piraeus Mayor Christos Agrapidis seemed to put an end to plans to extend the line after saying the introduction of the tram would cause more problems than it would solve. It is feared the tram will simply clog up the already cramped streets around the port. Local officials, however, said that they are open to the idea of the metro being extended to Piraeus. This idea has been gaining popularity recently at the Public Works Ministry. The tram operator said Greece will lose 16.5 million euros of EU funding if it does not extend the line.
