Ajit Karn
Before a major student and rail worker rally in Athens on Sunday, the Greek prime minister pleaded for forgiveness from the families of the 57 victims of the nation’s worst rail calamity.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in a message to the nation, “As prime minister, I owe everyone, but particularly the relatives of the fatalities, an apology.”
The collision between passenger and freight trains in Greece has prompted widespread outrage.
Mitsotakis stated on his Facebook page, “For the Greece of 2023, it is impossible for two trains travelling in opposite directions to share the same track without anyone noticing.”
On Sunday, relatives and loved ones of those killed in Tuesday’s fatal train accident were due to attend a memorial service outside Larissa station in central Greece, near the accident site.
The station master implicated in the calamity was scheduled to appear in court on Sunday, a hearing that had been postponed from the day before. He may be charged with negligent homicide.
Hellenic Train, the rail company at the centre of some of the rage expressed in the aftermath of the accident, issued a statement late Saturday defending its actions.
During the week, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the company’s headquarters in Athens, and according to a legal source, investigators are examining the possibility of bringing charges against senior members of the company.
In recent days, rail union officials have asserted that they warned the corporation about safety issues on the line. Concerning the government’s failure to implement rail safety reforms, difficult concerns are also being raised.
Grief and fury
As a result of the collision between a passenger train and a freight train, the demonstrations and vigils throughout Greece have expressed a mixture of sorrow and rage.
Sunday’s demonstration in Athens will take place in Syntagma Square, adjacent to the parliament, which was the site of violent confrontations between police and demonstrators on Friday evening.
Marches and memorial services were held in commemoration of the accident’s victims, the majority of whom were students returning from a weekend vacation.
One protester, Sophia Hatzopoulou, a 23-year-old philosophy student in Thessaloniki, stated, “What transpired was no coincidence; it was a crime.”
“We can’t observe all this happen and remain indifferent.”
At least nine young students studying at Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University were among those slain on the passenger train.
‘Novel components’ in case
The station master at Larissa, whose identity is unknown, has accepted culpability for the disaster, which occurred after the two trains ran along the same track for several kilometres.
The 59-year-old male faces life in prison if he is found guilty of negligent homicide.
However, his attorney Stefanos Pantzartsidis insisted on Saturday, “There are significant new elements in the case that must be examined.”
Details regarding the station master’s inexperience and the fact that he was left unsupervised during a busy holiday weekend have emerged in Greek media.
Emergency precautions
“These are particularly challenging days for the country and for our company,” Hellenic Train said in a late Saturday statement, noting that nine of its employees were killed in the collision.
The company added that its employees rushed to the calamity site and have been collaborating with rescue teams and authorities ever since.
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Kostas Genidounias, the president of the train drivers’ union OSE, stated that they had previously alerted authorities about safety deficiencies on the line where the accident occurred.
Three weeks ago, union leaders at Hellenic Train raised the alarm.
They stated at the time, “We will not wait for the accident to occur to see those culpable cry crocodile tears.”
