Renaming of Evangelismos metro station shelved

Plans to rename a key station on the Athens metro after a modern historical figure were shelved on Monday following reactions from the public.

Thousands of commuters took to social media over the weekend to criticize Friday’s announcement by operator Attiko Metro SA of plans to rename Evanglismos station – which serves the hospital of the same name in the downtown Kolonaki district – Pavlos Bakoyannis, after the late conservative politician who was gunned down in the area 30 years ago by the November 17 terrorist group.

Critics insisted the metro should be as user-friendly as possible, with station names indicating their geographical location.