Passenger trains in Greece will not operate on Thursday, Oct. 10, after a union representing engine drivers at Hellenic Train announced a 24-hour strike. The development is conditional on a pending court ruling.
Privately-owned railway Hellenic Train (formerly TrainOSE), a fully owned subsidiary of Italy’s FS, operates passenger and freight routes on railroad lines owned and managed by the state-run Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE).
Ensuring safety of passengers and personnel is a key demand of the industrial action.
Weighing on the minds of all is a deadly head-on collision in late February 2023 of two trains at the southern end of the Tempi Gorge, in north-central Greece, which left behind 57 people dead and many unanswered questions. A preliminary report has blamed human error for the collision, and specifically a sole traffic director at the Larissa station who appears to have ordered the north-bound passenger train to bypass a short stretch of rail track left without electrical power – due to vandalism – by traveling a short distance on the south-bound lane and then immediately returning to the correct north-bound track.
However, the 59-year-old station master, an employee of OSE, failed to re-order the passenger train back on the north-bound track and off the path of an oncoming south-bound freight train.
Lack of an electronic monitoring system and a fail-safe mode that would have warned traffic directors and the train drivers of the catastrophic mix-up, or automatically halted the trains, has come under intense scrutiny.
According to a statement issued by the union, “our efforts are focused on protecting the safety of all those who use the railway network every day”.
Demands include upgrading safety measures, including the immediate implementation across the network of a remote control and light signaling system (ETCS); the completion of infrastructure works; a better maintenance of the railway network; keeping the railway network clear of materials, tree trunks and obstacles; and ensuring investments in new rolling stock with a focus on suburban lines.
“It of utmost urgency to invest in new trains to ensure the quality and safety of transport,” the union said, calling on travelers to show understanding.
“Cooperation is essential to ensure the network continues to serve the public without putting the lives of employees and passengers at risk.”
According to the state-run ANA-MPA news agency, Hellenic Train management has petitioned an Athens first instance court to rule the strike illegal on the grounds that “the majority of the union’s requests concern issues that are within the competence of OSE”. A ruling is expected on Wednesday, a day before the industrial action is scheduled.
In a related development, ferry boats in Greece will not be carrying out routes to and from various islands on Oct. 22 and 23 due to a 48-hour nationwide strike called by Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO).
