Minister: Metro barriers to be activated by end-February

The barriers that work with the recently launched electronic transport tickets will be activated at all metro stations in Athens by the end of February, Greece's Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis has said.

So far barriers are operating at only six out of 60 metro stations across the capital, in what authorities say is an extended pilot stage.

Speaking Tuesday on state broadcaster ERT, Spirtzis denied allegations that the failure to properly activate the new system has taken a toll on revenues.

He said that the transport operator has so far sold more than 400,000 personalized smart cards (which can now also be purchased online), compared to the 250,000 passes sold monthly under the previous system.