Athens, March 2 (AFP/APP): About 700 people gathered Thursday outside the headquarters of Greek rail operator Hellenic Train to protest chronic failures that led to a collision between two trains this week that claimed dozens of lives.
“We are angry towards the company, towards the government and past governments that did nothing to improve conditions in the Greek railway,” said Stavros Nantis, a pensioner.
The protesters held a moment of silence to honour the accident’s 47 confirmed victims, an AFP journalist saw.
The station master on duty when the accident took place near the central city of Larissa has admitted responsibility for putting the two trains on the same track.
But trade unionists say the accident would not have happened had the line been equipped with automated safety systems that successive managements had failed to install.
Even when the company was privatised in 2017 and sold to Italy’s Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane, safety concerns persisted, Nantis said.
“Everybody thought that privatisation would solve the problems. The Italian company promised to modernise the railway and nothing was done. It’s a disgrace,” he said.
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