Concerns are once again growing about the safety of rail travel in Greece, after two new incidents involving commuter trains within a day.
Hours after the public prosecutor had ordered a criminal investigation for a near-collision of two suburban rail trains in the Athens metropolitan area, another train crashed into fallen trees near the city of Chalkida, on Evia island, on Saturday morning.
Rail travel safety in Greece has been under scrutiny since the horrendous Tempe train disaster on February 28, 2023, which claimed the lives of 57 on board, most of them university students returning from a festive long weekend.
The Tempe accident caused a political crisis in Greece and also saw the national railway immobilised for months while comprehensive safety procedures and regulations and staff suitability went under review.
Nonetheless, a few new safety incidents have been reported over the months since the reboot of the country’s rail routes.
Near-collision of Greek trains in the Athens metropolitan area
A head-on collision between two trains of the Athens suburban railway was averted on Friday when one of the train drivers realised he was moving on the same track as the train coming from the opposite direction, and alerted his colleague to immediately stop the engines when the two trains were just half a kilometer apart.
The trains were reportedly moving at a speed of 60km/hour and were crowded with commuters, one of the routes heading to the Athens international airport and the other route incoming from the town of Kiato in the south.
Leaked tappings from the train and station intracom suggest that one of the stationmasters mistakenly ordered the first train to take a single track already occupied by the second, but the remote signaling systems were also reportedly not in operation to warn them.
While the stationmaster in question has been suspended for 30 days and a criminal investigation ordered, the Union of Greek railway employees is adamant that, “like in the Tempe crime, today’s near head-on collision in Athens would certainly have been avoided if the remote signaling systems had been in operation.”
The Union adds that another head-on collision had taken place at the same spot in 2008, injuring dozens of passengers: “And then, as now, no remote signaling system was in operation.”
Greek train crashes on fallen trees
On Saturday morning, a suburban railway train crashed into fallen trees, causing a part closure of the railway near the town of Chalkida, Evia, Central Greece.
Photos posted on Facebook by railway employees showed tree branches having broken into the driver’s booth.
An announcement by the Greek rail company, Hellenic Train, confirmed that nobody was hurt in the incident and that all passengers reached their destination by coach.
According to the employees’ Union, the Greek railway is suffering from shortfalls on safety and lack of investment on infrastructure, while the competent Ministry hasn’t responded to their requests for a meeting.
“The obsolescence, dissolution, underfunding of railway transport in our country continues, as does the effort of our Union to reverse the situation. Our only ally is Greek society,” they commented.
Woman dragged as leg trapped in moving train door
Meanwhile the implementation of passenger safety protocols by staff seems to have room for improvement as well. Last Saturday, a mother suffered light injuries as she disembarked a train in Livadeia, Central Greece.
The train closed the doors before the woman had gotten off the train, trapping her leg in the door and dragging her along the platform for 50 metres as the train started to move – her child and other onlookers running behind the train and screaming at the driver to stop. She held her second child in her arms, and the third was still on board the train, local media said.
The incident was witnessed and publicised by former New Democracy MP Andreas Koutsoumpas.
After the train eventually stopped and the woman was rescued, the journey continued, but the driver and supervisor were arrested at the next station under prosecutor orders.
“We are committed to further enhancing the training of our staff to ensure that such isolated incidents do not recur,” Hellenic Train said in an announcement. “Our goal remains the continuous improvement of our services, giving absolute priority to the safety and trust of our passengers.”
