Heavy rain in Thessaloniki again turned into a test for the local metro: water entered the Universitet station (Πανεπιστήμιο), and the staff had to urgently remove it.
The incident occurred on the evening of September 3 after heavy rainfall in the city. According to RThesswater began to flow into the interior of the station, causing concern among passengers.
Thessaloniki metro “floated” again: the “University” station was flooded after rain pic.twitter.com/iqwumsoXTl
— Athens News (@russianathens) September 3, 2026
Metro employees began pumping out water and eliminating the consequences.
Thessaloniki’s deepest metro station
The University station is one of the key stations on the main Thessaloniki metro line and at the same time the deepest – its maximum depth reaches approximately 37 meters.
It has three exits: one towards the University of Macedonia and two towards Egnatia Street.
That is why any problems with water penetration here cause special attention: we are not talking about a small peripheral facility, but about one of the most important stations of the entire system.
But it already happened
The most unpleasant thing for metro operators is that the current case is hardly unexpected.
More November 30, 2024, the day of the official opening of the Thessaloniki metrodue to heavy rain, water began to seep through the ceilings at three stations at once – “Venizelu”, “University” and “Papafi”.
Then employees had to set out buckets and put up warning signs due to the wet and slippery floor.
That is, the “University” station, which has now been flooded again, was already among the problem objects literally from the first hours of the metro’s operation.
Project worth billions
The Thessaloniki Metro has become one of the most expensive and long-constructed infrastructure projects in modern Greece.
The work continued for decades, with numerous delays, archaeological discoveries and revisions to the original plans.
The total cost of the project and associated phases amounts to billions of euros, so recurring problems with water penetration naturally raise questions about the quality of waterproofing and the final delivery of the projects.
While the movement continues
At the time of publication, there were no reports of a complete closure of the station due to water.
Staff continued to work on site removing water and monitoring the condition of the premises.
At the same time, on September 5, the work of the University station and seven other metro stations will be temporarily suspended for a completely different reason – due to security measures during events around the International Exhibition in Thessaloniki.
Editorial comment
The episode with water after heavy rain itself could be attributed to extremely intense rainfall.
But the problem is that it was the “University” station that was already flooded on the first day of metro operation in November 2024.
When a facility worth billions of euros encounters the same problem, first upon opening and then almost two years later, a natural question arises: is this a random local incident or a flaw that has never been completely corrected?
And it is especially symbolic that the new episode occurred in early September – before the really heavy winter rains arrive.
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