“Revealing” report on the Metro: 391 faults and inflow of seawater from the port of Piraeus were detected on the new line
The much-publicized “construction achievement” that cost 470,000,000 euros and was put into operation a few months ago is letting water in from all sides. 19 pages of failures and damages in the hands of those responsible. Security issues for thousands of passengers.
The influx of water into the railway tunnel located between the Piraeus and Municipal Theatre stations made its presence felt for the first time shortly after the inauguration in November.
ALSTOM, which also participates in the “haunted” implementation of ERGOSE’s contract 717 for the tele-administration-signaling system signed in 2014, and if it had been delivered, it may have prevented the Tempi accident.
LAST UPDATE MONDAY MARCH 20, 20:50
By Aris Hadjigeorgios
A tunnel that draws water from the port of Piraeus and another 390 failures have been found in recent months in the new sections of Metro Line 3 that were inaugurated last October by Prime Minister Kyr. Mitsotakis, with the then Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Achilleas Karamanlis talking about a “construction achievement”.
The influx of seawater into the railway tunnel located between the Piraeus and Municipal Theatre stations made its presence felt for the first time shortly after the opening in November, through a strong stench.
Initially, the technicians of STASY (Fixed Transport) considered that it was a leak from a sewage network that passes through the area. The stagnant water, apart from the stench, soon began to cause intense oxidation in various metallic elements of the railway superstructure, in rails, sleepers, switches, etc. The problem was monitored and revealed additional failures even in the concreting of the “construction achievement”.
According to information, STASY (responsible for the operation of the Metro) requested via letters from the person responsible for the project “ATTIKO Metro” in consultation with the manufacturer, the consortium AVAX-GHELLA-ALSTOM.
This is the same consortium that is building the new Metro line 4 (Veikou-Goudi Park) while ALSTOM is also involved in the implementation of ERGOSE’s “haunted” contract 717 for the telecommand-signaling system signed in 2014, with many estimating that if it had been delivered, the Tempi accident could have been prevented.
Four months have passed since last November, but the problem of water inflow has not been remedied and this raises serious concerns. It is recalled that one of the most impressive elements of the project for which the resigning Minister of Infrastructure and his remaining Deputy Minister George Karagiannis were boasting when the project was nearing delivery, was precise that the underground station “Piraeus” is located well below the level of the adjacent sea and the same applies to much of the tunnel leading to the Municipal Theatre.
STASY, according to the same information, continued to push for a solution to the problem of water inflow without a response from ATTIKO Metro and mainly the construction consortium. In February, STASY carried out an analysis of the water flowing in and found that it did not come from a sewage network but was seawater.
After the tragic train accident in Tempi on February 28, however, and the tsunami that broke out for the responsibilities of the government officials, it seems that something began to change. Attico Metro has now urgently asked the construction consortium for information on the measures it plans to take.
Data Journalists reveal today that the inflow of seawater into the Metro is not the only construction problem in the project that cost a total of 470 million euros excluding VAT.
In the official documents that we quote and within a total of 19 pages, 391 specific faults, and failures that occurred throughout the new network (Agia Marina-Piraeus) are recorded, in the period starting from July 2022 until the end of last year.
A careful reader of this list will find that serious damage is included but will also see that some of them remain unrepaired, as shown in the relevant column. It is recalled that the Agia Marina-Nikea section has been operating since 2020, while the one that was inaugurated in October 2022 was the last section of Piraeus.
It is noted that this revealing list was circulated after the accident in Tempi and is yet another indication of the concern that has since begun to be felt by those responsible, but also of the need to have in their hands evidence that they have done the right thing, in case of liability for any problem that arises.
In that section of the list called “Cumulative Table of Problems of Superstructure, Electricity and Tunnel”, 22 of the 62 faults concern the Piraeus – Municipal Theatre section, and many are related to the water inflow mentioned above.
Intense oxidations and erosions in the trajectories burn in the electrified trajectory, loose joints and other failures occur in the remaining sections of the stations Maniatika, Nikaia, Korydallos, Agia Varvara, and Agia Marina.
From there, a long list of faults begins, which by themselves may be considered routine but when they appear cumulatively they can cause more serious operational problems: Sensors that do not work, monitors for drivers with “frozen image”, security doors that give “false alarm”, failures in communication networks, electricity, fire detection systems, security cameras, lighting, air conditioning, escalators and even clocks for passenger information.
Even if the tragedy of Tempi had not intervened, the long list of the weightlessness of such a project would have echoed what Karamanlis said last October about “tomorrow’s day that shows that difficult technical projects can become a reality and our country can climb the stairs in the field of infrastructure and transport”.
The intervention of the Supreme Court Prosecutor I. Doyakos a few hours after the revelation.
The investigation by Data Journalists on the inflow of water in the railway tunnel located between the stations of Piraeus and the Municipal Theatre, as well as the 391 damages that have been found in recent months in the new sections of Metro Line 3, provoked the intervention of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Isidoros Doyakos.
These are the sections that were solemnly inaugurated last October by Prime Minister Kyr. Mitsotakis, with the then Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas Achilleas Karamanlis talking about a “construction achievement”.
More specifically, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Isidoros Dogiakos, ordered a preliminary examination, which he ordered to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Athens Court of First Instance, against any person responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of the project on the Piraeus metro line.
The influx of seawater into the railway tunnel located between the Piraeus and Municipal Theatre stations made its presence felt for the first time shortly after the opening in November, through a strong stench. Initially, the technicians of STASY (Fixed Transport) considered that it was a leak from a sewage network that passes through the area.
The stagnant water, apart from the stench, soon began to cause intense oxidation in various metallic elements of the railway superstructure, in rails, sleepers, switches, etc. The problem was monitored and revealed additional damages even in the concreting of the “construction achievement”.
According to the information, STASY (responsible for the operation of the Metro) requested by letters from the person responsible for the project “ATTIKO Metro” in consultation with the manufacturer, the consortium AVAX-GHELLA-ALSTOM.
This is the same consortium that is building the new Metro line 4 (Veikou-Goudi Park) while ALSTOM is also involved in the implementation of ERGOSE’s “haunted” contract 717 for the telecommand-signaling system signed in 2014, with many estimating that if it had been delivered, the Tempi accident could have been prevented.
Four months have passed since last November, but the problem of water inflow has not been remedied and this raises serious concerns. Data Journalists also published official documents, recording 391 specific faults and failures that occurred throughout the new network (Agia Marina-Piraeus), in the period starting from July 2022 until the end of last year.
The response of ATTIKO METRO S.A.
Regarding today’s media reports, we would like to inform you about the following:
The section of the tunnel in the area of the “Piraeus” station, where small leaks of water in the form of “leachate” recently appeared, was constructed in the summer of 2017.
The project was delivered for use to STASY SA on 07.10.22.
Before the commencement of operation of the section of the extension of Line 3 of the Metro “Maniatika – Piraeus – Municipal THEATRE”, no leaks had ever been observed in this section nor oxidations in the tracks, and all the measurements carried out were found within the permissible limits.
They appeared after the beginning of the operation and immediately ATTIKO METRO S.A. asked the Contractor, through successive letters, to take the required corrective actions.
It is noted that the International Standards for the construction of Metro tunnels do not exclude the possible, limited area, presence of moisture, while at the same time the station “Piraeus” is watertight.
The issue of leaks in the tunnel has been effectively addressed and any oxidations and corrosions on the rails have already been removed, which in any case did not pose problems of functionality and safety of the METRO.
Today the rail and the electric track have been fully restored, with no new leaks or re-emergence of oxidations.
For the remainder of any damages reported by STASY. SA is not uncommon in the commencement of operation of such complex projects as the Metro, are immaterial and are dealt with as soon as possible by the Contractor Consortium, under the guarantee of the Project, under the supervision of ATTIKO METRO SA and do not pose any safety problem in the operation of the system.
In conclusion, the phenomenon of the limited extent of leaks and oxidations that occurred after the commissioning of the project and any minor damages reported by STASY SA are treated in a timely and successful manner.
The project of the Metro extension in Piraeus is completely reliable and safe, contrary to what is stated in the relevant publications.
ATTIKO METRO S.A. has more than thirty years of experience in the construction of Metro projects, focusing on the safety and functionality of its infrastructure.
Data Journalists: New document debunks ATTIKO METRO S.A. claims
It is positive, obviously, that an official state body, Attiko Metro responsible for the construction of the project, decided, even after 24 hours, to respond to the revelations of Data Journalists.
At the same time, it is somewhat paradoxical that the announcement responds “to today’s publications”, that is, to the multitude of media outlets that reproduced our original post yesterday. But there are much more serious paradoxes, as you will read below.
In its reply, ATTIKO METRO attempts to downplay the issue and assures that the “small area leaks” and “leachates”, “have been effectively treated”, while the remaining 390 failures” are not uncommon in the commencement of operation of such complex projects as the Metro, are immaterial and are dealt with as soon as possible by the Contractor Consortium, under the guarantee of the Project, under the supervision of ATTIKO METRO S.A. and do not pose any safety problem in the operation of the system”.
We really hope that the assurances of ATTIKO METRO will be fully valid and that all measures have been taken for the safety of passengers. Besides, the publication conveys the “concern” and the remarks made for months by STASY, that is, the company that operates the Metro.
It is the obligation of the media to make such labels public and of those responsible to take timely action – which unfortunately did not happen in the case of the Tempi accident.
But did the restoration actions take place “immediately” as the Attiko Metro claims? Did the consortium actually respond ‘immediately’ to the project guarantee? And were they really “small leaks”? The journalistic group Data Journalists reveals another service document that leads to completely different conclusions:
– This is a letter sent by the Director of ATTIKO METRO to the consortium (J&P-AVAX-GHELLA-ALSTOM) on March 3, 2023, i.e. three days after the accident in Tempi. In the text, there is no reference to “leachate” but clearly to “seawater influx” that has caused rust and strong odor.
– As shown in the attachments, ATTIKO Metro has sent four letters to the contractor so far on 5/12/22, 9/12/22, 20/1/23, and 24/2/23. At the same time, it seems that STASY sent the water samples on 24/2/23 which indicated that it was an inflow from the sea and not another leak. So the influx continued until then and was not dealt with immediately.
– The most revealing is the one mentioned by the Director of ATTIKO METRO at the end of the second paragraph. That is, despite the 4 letters, it has no information from the construction consortium about the investigation it carried out into the problem and, above all, “the proposed way of definitive and effective treatment of the problem”.
How was the problem addressed effectively, as stated in today’s announcement by ATTIKO Metro, when 17 days ago the consortium had not even responded to its investigation despite the four letters it had received?
– Also, what is mentioned in the letter of ATTIKO Metro in the last paragraph does not fit in with what is said about “minor problems” in today’s announcement. There, “the contractor is again asked to respond, taking into account that the solution to be proposed must ensure that in the long term, there will be no problems in the structural elements of the Project and more serious problems in the operation and maintenance of the specific section of the line”.
So what happened to the ATTIKO METRO, which was talking about problems “in the structural elements of the Project” on 3/3/23, and treats them a few days later as minor issues? And how does it reassure STASY so inexpensively in today’s announcement, when 17 days ago it was invoking its concerns?
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