Use Case

Athens, Greece

Resilient Public Transport Management

The Athens metro network is operated by STASY and encounters several operational issues daily due to adverse climate change events.

For instance, in 2023, extreme flooding caused the closure of three of the arterial metro stations in the centre of the city, resulting in significant disruptions for passengers, while raising safety concerns. Beyond the geographical limits of the capital, the main rail connection between the two most populous cities of the country (Athens and Thessaloniki) remained out of service for a prolonged period, resulting in the destruction of the track infrastructure and the power supply system over a large part of the line.

Besides flooding, snow events occasionally lead to the closure of parts of the metro lines, while the malfunction of power cables in the above-ground segments affects especially the operations of the electric railway line and the tram lines. The lack of raw materials for maintenance purposes adds another dimension to the operational challenges faced by STASY, as, in some cases, it further delays the service from returning to normal due to maintenance delays.

The Covid-19 pandemic, and the mandate to maintain a 1.5-meter distance, crippled public transport operations, as Athens’ urban rail is one of the most crowded transport services in Europe.

In detail, the main challenges of STASY are due to the following disruption scenarios:
• Loss of power cables due to theft or malfunction
• Sabotage or damage of the optical fibre in signalling systems
• Vandalism of rolling stock and infrastructure
• Cyber-attacks
• Unexpected malfunction of parts of the rolling stock
• Damage in the communication system
• Extended heat waves resulting in rail buckling of failure of signaling cards
• Earthquakes resulting in possible collapse of infrastructure (bridges, stations)
• Flooding
• Extreme snowfall

To navigate these disruptive shifts, STASY collaborates with NTUA as a knowledge partner in the SCUDO project.

Innovative solutions will be used to develop

Algorithms for a resilience-based railway management at the tactical planning level

Includes: the stages of frequency settings for different lines, time tabling, vehicle scheduling, crew rostering, and utilisation of emergency vehicles (i.e., buses) in case of station or track segment closures

Resilience-based maintenance scheduling procedures at the tactical and operational level

Includes: the proactive procurement of necessary raw material for emergency maintenance purposes in order to sustain disruptions in the supply chain

Real-time control approaches (i.e., service rescheduling) to return the service to its normal operations as soon as possible

Updated emergency plans for urban rail systems to avoid the loss of human life in case of emergencies.

For those purposes, the project will also

Develop advanced multi-modal simulation scenarios will be developed to evaluate the current level of service provided by the Athens metro

Identify critical links of the PT network to avoid a total collapse of operations.

Consider into the modelling activities the operational data, as well as data that reflect the socio-economic characteristics of urban rail passengers to achieve a solution of higher resilience.

Develop AI-based algorithms to optimise the current service by achieving an overall reduced travel time and reduced passenger waiting times at stops.

Develop scenarios simulating the effect of disruptions on the performance of the public transport system to evaluate the way the system responds in the face of different disruptions, while AI-based algorithms will be developed to predict locations of low, medium and severe disruptions

Employ AI-based Vehicle Scheduling algorithms to provide recourse strategies and alleviate the effect of flooding disruptions.

Key Performance Indicators

Reduction of

  • Fatal accidents
  • Accidents with severe injuries
  • Accidents with light injuries
  • Maintenance delays due to supply chain issues
  • Passenger delays in case of disruptions
  • Costs for infrastructure repairment
  • Waiting time and economic impact on vulnerable citizens
  • Missed healthcare appointments
  • Late school drop-offs and/or pick-ups.

Facts and figures

How many people live within the Athens metropolitan area?

Over 3.6 million people

How long is the Athens metro network?

The Athens metro network stretches over 80 kilometres.

How many passengers use the Athens metro every day?

The Athens metro serves around 1.3 million passengers daily.

How many trains operate daily on the Athens metro network?

The Athens metro network uses 107 trains each day.