Detail of ‘privatization’ in train accident in Greece
A passenger train and a freight train collided in the afternoon of the previous day in the Tempi region, north of the Greek city of Larissa. At least 43 people died and dozens were injured in the accident in which some of the passenger train cars derailed and the front cars burned. This accident was the deadliest train accident in Greek history.
The government has not yet made a clear statement on the cause of the accident. However, discussions began in the country about the financing, maintenance and staffing of the railway in Greece.
MORE DEATHS IN GREECE
According to the 2022 report of the European Union Agency for Railways, from 2018 to 2020, Greece was the country with the highest railway fatality rate among 28 European countries. Unsafe level crossings, poor infrastructure, traffic management systems and inadequate staffing are the main factors in the stifling record of the Greek railways.
Although it is said that yesterday’s accident may have been caused by signaling problems or driver error, there are also those who claim that low investment due to privatization is the main reason behind the accident.
‘A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY CAUSED BY DEPRIVATION’
Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis tweeted: “Now is the time to cry. But soon we will raise the substantive issue with the Greek parliament. “This is a terrible tragedy caused by the privatization of the railway,” he said.
The Greek rail operator Trainose was privatized in 2017 by the Syriza government as part of the EU bailout reforms implemented by Greece. The company was managed by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane of Italy.
‘DEFECTS WERE KNOWN BEFORE’
Dimitris Kuçumbas, the leader of the opposition Communist Party of Greece (KKE), also argued that the authorities were informed in advance about the flaws in the system. Kuçumbas, who went to the scene of the accident in the Tempi region, told reporters at the scene: “This cannot be an accident, it is a crime that was committed despite being warned in advance.”
Kuçumbas said: “The workers had previously warned the Greek Railways Organization (OSE) to rail operators. The KKE took this issue to the parliamentary platform. The unionists filed a complaint months ago,” he said.
Kuçumbas, demanding that those responsible be found, “21. Although technology and science allow it in the 21st century, security systems do not work, there are not enough trained and expert personnel.
SIGNALING DOES NOT WORK
Kostas Genidounias, president of the Greek train drivers’ association, also drew attention to the signaling problem in a statement on state television. Saying that neither the signals nor the traffic control system were working, Genidounias said: “If they were working, the drivers would have seen the red light and the trains would have stopped 500 meters from each other.”
“Preventive maintenance has been a troublesome issue for years,” Spyros Pateras, president of the Greek Railways Organization, the body that oversees rail infrastructure in Greece, said at a transport conference last year. Pateras said the government has earmarked 25 million euros for maintenance, but there has been “a lack of funds and personnel in recent years.”
UNION STRIKE DECISION
The Panhellenic Federation of Railway Workers (POS) has declared a 24-hour strike for March 2.
In a POS statement, “The undervaluing of Greek railways by governments for years has caused the tragedy in Tempi. Unfortunately, our demands, such as the employment of permanent staff, proper training and, most importantly, the application of modern security technologies, are constantly thrown into the basket of unnecessary things.