In the process of collecting information about the train accident in Tempi, Greek journalists found out that in May 2022, a similar disaster almost occurred in Seres when freight and passenger trains were sent towards each other along the same track.
New information about two trains that nearly collided at Serres station came to light in a 10-month-old PESOSE complaint. According to the document, on May 23, 2022, literally at the last moment, the switches were switched, and the freight train switched to another track, which made it possible to avoid a head-on collision with a passenger train full of people.
Passenger train No. 3634 was waiting for an oncoming train at Serres station, as there is only a single-track railway line in this section. At the same time, a freight train was ordered to proceed through this station. To do this, at the station, which is not functioning and where there is no stationmaster, there are switches that had to be switched so that the trains could disperse. However, this turned out to be extremely difficult to do …
“The station was not functioning, and therefore it was not possible to organize the switching of switches on the siding so that there was no collision of two trains”, says the PESOSE complaint.
When it became clear what was happening, the line worker was instructed to urgently go to Serres station and switch switches to avoid a collision. And the PESOSE complaint goes on to say: “But the decay taking place in ose, has no end. A traveler and a locksmith arrived at the Serres station and found that they did not have the keys to the station in order to enter the building and obtain the necessary tools to perform the required actions.
“After the mistake made, it was proposed to change the key to the Serres station, which was closed. Even then there was a risk that this human error could lead to a tragic outcome, because they could not find the person responsible for opening the door of the station building and making switching arrows,” said journalist Paschalis Tosios.
What was the final solution? An accident that could potentially cost dozens of lives was averted thanks to a retired stationmaster. “In a panic and in the face of a potential accident that could cost human lives, the traveler called the retired stationmaster of the region, who had (how could he find them at home?) Keys to Serres station and asked him to immediately open the building, which he and did,” PESOSE writes in its complaint.
The complaint ends, unfortunately, with a prophetic phrase: “We warn that if these criminal inactions and actions continue, they will cost human lives.”
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