Greece to Overhaul Rail Safety in Light of Tempi Disaster
Source: Balkan Insight
Α new draft bill on the safety and modernisation of Greece’s railways was presented to the Council of Ministers on Monday, two years after a disastrous train crash at Tempi in 2023 cost the lives of 57 people.
“As a state, we must respond to the collective mourning of Tempi by effectively combating the causes that caused this tragedy. Not with easy words and vague scenarios, but with a difficult task that will soon bring visible results,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
‘Facing the country’s railways, as another field of confrontation with a bad past, which we want to leave behind us once and for all, [we must] prove to citizens that we have the strength to turn the page from a yesterday that deeply hurt Greek society,” he added.
The new bill aims to “restore the sense of trust of passengers in Greek trains,” Mitsotakis explained. Specifically, the Greek Railways Organisation, OSE, the railway infrastructure firm, ErgOSE, and the railway property and rolling stock management firm, GAIOSE will be merged.
Radical changes are promised in terms of safety controls and personnel evaluation. At the end of the process, the railway system will have fully remote-controlled signals and automatic braking. At the same time, trains will be geolocated in real time, to prevent any more collisions.
The collision of a passenger train and a freight train at Tempi prompted a national outcry and shone a harsh light on years of neglect and mismanagement of the rail system.
Mitsotakis also announced the operation of a new platform, railway.gov.gr. This Digital Railway Data Registry will record train traffic throughout Greece online.
Video surveillance of railway structures is being introduced while all intercom messages will be recorded in a digital database, making it easier to assess the performance of staff, especially those in positions of responsibility.
Staff selection will be carried out using stricter criteria, with regular psychometric tests as well as practical training, which will now also include simulators, as is done in aviation training.
Finally, the post of train manager – who will be able to identify risks – is being reinstated, .At the same time, a special unit of inspectors is being created to ensure compliance with General Traffic Regulations. This body will also recommend any sanctions, if the rules are violated.
The new bill is to be put out for public consultation in the coming days.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
