At the last moment, a head-on collision between two commuter trains, which were moving along the same track towards each other at a speed of 120 km per hour, was avoided!
The incident took place on Friday morning in front of Agios Anargyros station. Collision of two trains, which were full of people, could have happened because dispatcher errors OSE at the Acharnon railway centre (SKA). He considered that train 1210, going from Athens towards Athens airportalready passed the single-track section and gave instructions train 1307 from Kiato is “free to pass”.
A system that should show the presence of trains on the section and block the erroneous action of the dispatcher, turned out to be faulty (nothing surprising…). The reflexes of the train driver from Athens saved the situation moments before the fatal outcome.
Having accidentally overheard the conversation of the station master at the Acharnon railway center and the order of the 1307th engineer on the radio, he acted accordingly. Hundreds of people were saved thanks to the attentiveness of the engineer.
The above event once again highlights the tragic state of the railways and the lack of necessary safety measures, despite the fact that 19 months have passed since the Tempi massacre, which claimed the lives of 57 people.
What else needs to happen in this country for measures to be taken and for Greek citizens not to feel unsafe on their way to and from work?
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