Deputies of ruling New Democracy party serving on a Parliamentary committee of inquiry on Sunday submitted their findings on the February 2023 Temp rail disaster. The report, roughly 700 pages, details what committee members call the factors leading to the deadly transport accident.
The report outlines the seven critical errors made by a Larissa station master and the two train conductors as causing the unprecedented rail disaster in Greece.
After a four-month investigation and testimony into the train collision at the southern entrance of the Tempi Valley gorge in north-central Greece, which resulted in the loss of 57 lives, the majority of members of the parliamentary committee recorded violations of the general traffic regulations on the evening of Feb. 28. Witnesses affirmed that had these regulations been strictly followed the accident could have been averted.
The majority’s report underlines that there was no attempt to conceal evidence, while operational interventions at the accident site were carried out by competent authorities to remove the damaged train engines and cars.
Concurrently, the judiciary is conducting a parallel and independent investigation into actions of all relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, in their separate report, members of the main opposition SYRIZA party serving on the same committee asserted that their findings include potential criminal liabilities against Kostas A. Karamanlis, who was transport minister at time of the Tempi accident. The latter is the first cousin and namesake of former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis, who was in office between 2004 to 2009.
SYRIZA’s report points to Karamanlis’ alleged responsibility in the appointment of the now remanded station master, a lack of implementation of national rail safety regulations, and a failure to repair the signaling system in the Larissa segment of the national rail network, which was damaged in a fire in 2019.
