World Report

Athens' Subway System Decorated With Artifacts Discovered During Its Construction

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ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: Greece is hoping a new subway system in Athens will clear up some of the city's smog. But environmental concerns may not be the only reason some Athenians are taking the train. The rail stations are decorated with artifacts that were discovered during the construction.

ERT in Greece has more.

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ELISABETH FILIPPOULIS, ERT REPORTER (voice-over): More than 3,000 people assembled in the heart of Athens when the Greek prime minister, "Kostas" Simitis, officially inaugurated the first section of the capital's newly constructed subway.

The new railway system of the Greek city extends by now to 11 miles, connects 21 stations, and aims to relieve Athens of pollution and alleviate its chronic traffic problems as wells as to improve quality of life.

The new subway is a great (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for which the Athenians have been waiting for years, since it is expected to dramatically improve the transportation network in the whole region of Attica.

The president of the Greek Republic, Konstandinos Stephanopoulos, stressed the meaning of this major work.

KONSTANDINOS STEPHANOPOULOS, GREEK PRESIDENT (through translator): It is a significant project. It's a work of great importance, of great difficulty as well.

FILIPPOULIS: It is estimated that some 250,000 cars will be removed from the streets daily once the new subway becomes fully operational by the year 2006.

According to experts, something like that would lead to at least a 35 percent reduction of toxic car emissions and would eventually make the Athenian atmosphere healthier and cleaner.

"It's the work of the 21st century for Athens," said the Greek prime minister, Kostas Simitis, in his opening remarks. KOSTAS SIMITIS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER: This project symbolizes for Athens, for Greece, the changing of our country. It symbolizes the beginning of the 21st century.

FILIPPOULIS: During the excavations and digging for the subway construction, more than 30,000 ancient Greek and Roman finds came up to light, revealing the city's ancient history and civilization.

Those artifacts, which are beautifully displayed, forming a new cultural museum beneath the city, explain to the passengers the building and development of Athens during the last 2,500 years.

Underground Athens today is a combination of modern trains and cultural treasures, which the passengers can admire on the way to work, or while exploring the capital under the surface. Roman baths, ancient roads, cisterns, drains, cemeteries and tombs, human skeletons, metal working shops are now exhibited and await to delight any lover of history, art and Greek culture.

This is Elisabeth Filippoulis from Hellenic Broadcasting for CNN WORLD REPORT.

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