Disaster in Tempi: expert committee released the results of the investigation

The Tempi Train Collision Commission of Inquiry published its findings in a 228-page report, 52 days after the tragedy that killed 57 people.

The Investigation Report puts the blame on a variety of factors, including infrastructure, responsible individuals and organizations, and makes a number of security recommendations.

The deadly train crash at Tempi on Feb. 28 was the result of a variety of factors related to the operation, personnel and technological equipment, including at the administrative level, of the railways, an expert panel report released Thursday said. It says that both organizations and individuals are to blame for the accident that claimed the lives of 57 people.

The report puts the blame for the deadly train collision on February 28 on the state organization Hellenic Railways (ose) and its subsidiary ERGOSE, the Transport Regulatory Authority and the private Italian company Hellenic Train, as well as the stationmaster and train drivers on that fateful night, “who apparently did not follow the rules.” Indirectly, he also places the blame on politicians for failing to modernize the rail network.

Among other conclusions:

• The problems of Greek railways are “chronic” and are largely due to the gradual preference of citizens for alternative modes of transport.
• Delays in the implementation of all contracts for the modernization of the railway network are a very big problem due to all those involved in the tender procedures, as well as due to their poor organization and execution by the contractors.
• There was no remote control system.
• Signaling issues: The electrical side signaling on the Larisa-Thessaloniki section has been out of service since July 2019 due to a fire at the remote control center in Larisa at Zachary station, but rail traffic is managed by a telephone communication system between Larisa and Neoi Poroi stations.
• The appointment of a stationmaster was illegal and should have been rejected (for more information about the report, visit documento.gr in Greek).
• The report also points to the need for immediate modernization of the railway and radical changes in staff training.

The Committee noted that the purpose of the report was to consider and present evidence, not to assign or allocate responsibility and blame, which is the task of justice, in accordance with the constitution and laws.

Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis, now also in charge of transport, said the report on the rail crash detailed “serious violations” of safety procedures and long-standing “system failures.”

It is worth noting that Kostas Genidunias, president of the OSE Machinists Union, complained that the panel of experts did not call him or any other member of the union to testify, but only to serve the relevant extrajudicial documents that they sent warning about the situation in the railway network.

PS The results of the withdrawal of the commission are quite expected. The head of the station is to blame on the spot, and in everything else the general world trends are to blame. Readers interviewed by the editors say that they doubt that under the current government, those directly responsible for the failure of automatic control systems, as well as those who pushed the station chief to this position, will be punished.

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