The Greek parliament voted on Thursday to investigate the actions of the former transport minister in connection with the country’s worst railway disaster, which killed 57 people in 2023.
Government MPs approved the investigation into the actions of Kostas Karamanlis, who welcomed the inquiry as an opportunity to clear his name. Karamanlis, a member of one of Greece’s most influential political families, told lawmakers that he would ‘never forget’ the night of the accident.
He insisted that he had done “everything” in his power to improve the state of Greece’s railways.
A parliamentary commission will now consider whether Karamanlis should be held accountable for breach of duty, which is a criminal offence.
Some parties have tried to involve Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself in the case. Speaking on June 18, Mitsotakis called the proposal by left-wing and far-right parties to investigate him on charges of treason “shameful.”
Deadly disaster
On the night of February 28 to March 1, 2023, a passenger train travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided with a freight train in the town of Tempy in northern Greece.
The accident killed 57 people and injured dozens more. This accident was the deadliest in the history of Greek railways.
Many of the 350 passengers on the passenger train were young students returning to Thessaloniki after a long weekend dedicated to Greek Orthodox Lent.
Members of the railway workers’ union believe that the safety systems were not working properly, which they had repeatedly warned about over many years. After the accident, representatives of the railway workers’ union reported safety issues on the Athens-Thessaloniki route. According to them, on a number of sections where trains reached speeds of 160 km/h, the light signalling and automatic control systems were not working, and train movements were not displayed on the monitors. The drivers were effectively operating the trains manually.
The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by both human error and serious structural deficiencies in the Greek railway system. According to the published expert report, the freight train was also carrying “illegal” cargo, including explosive chemicals, which caught fire as a result of the collision.
Many in Greece remain dissatisfied with the investigation into the causes of the disaster. Relatives of the victims believe that the cabinet is covering up the facts and hiding those responsible.
