“We feel immense rage.” These words from Michalis Hasiotis, president of the union of Greek accountants, could sum up the tense situation gripping Greece, five days after the train accident which occurred on February 28 near Larissa, in the center of the country. This Sunday, March 5, 12,000 people demonstrated in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens, brandishing signs “Down with murderous governments”, while trains and metros were on strike.
The heavy human toll (57 dead) and the human origin of the tragedy have pushed several thousand people into the streets to demand the resignation of the government and more investment in the country’s rail network, to the point of causing violent clashes. between demonstrators and police, Friday evening. The head-on collision between a passenger train and another carrying goods was such that elements “were thrown hundreds of meters into the nearby fields”, explains the newspaper Kathimerini. More than 340 passengers were on board, along with 10 staff.
Privatization under fire from critics
Since the accident, many voices have been raised to demand the modernization of the national rail network – even its renationalisation. Demonstrators notably marched in Larissa, in front of the premises of the Hellenic Train company, shouting “Privatization kills!” or “Their profits, our dead”. The company, privatized after the bankruptcy of Greece and the contraction of a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2010, was bought by the Italian public railway group Ferrovie dello Stato italiane in 2016.
But this private operation of the rail network has not been accompanied by significant work, as the unions in the sector have deplored for several years. In detail, safety radars are (still) expected and manual signaling systems are singled out for their dangerousness. “It’s been since 2000 that the systems have not worked,” said Kostas Genidounias, president of a union of train drivers.
“Chronic pathologies”
Hellenic Train’s recruitment methods also come under fire from critics. In Larissa, the station master implicated in the accident was in fact a baggage handler promoted due to lack of staff, having received only three months’ training before being appointed to this position, like the explains the newspaper Kathimerini. The 59-year-old man, whose identity, Vassilis Samaras, was revealed by the Ministry of Transport, admitted his responsibility on Sunday. Neither the turn signals, traffic lights, nor electronic traffic control otherwise worked, and the station masters had no walkie-talkies to communicate with. In December 2022, the Greek railway policeman also imposed a fine of 300,000 euros on Hellenic Train for having abandoned more than 800 passengers in the midst of a cold snap.
Thursday, March 2, the spokesman for the Greek government, Ioannis Oikonomou, admitted “chronic pathologies” on the rail network. He also acknowledged “delays” in the modernization of the railways, even though the European Commission has paid Greece 700 million euros, since 2014, to develop sixteen railway projects. The Greek Prime Minister publicly acknowledged “chronic weaknesses” in the rail sector, before announcing the creation of an independent commission of inquiry into the tragedy. Kyriakos Mitsotakis went even further on Sunday, asking forgiveness from the families of the victims in a solemn address. “We cannot, do not want and must not hide behind human error” attributed to the station master, insisted the Conservative leader.