ATHENS, Mar 9 (NNN-AMNA) – The Greek government announced yesterday, a set of measures, aimed to improve the safety of railway system, in wake of the train collision last week, in central Greece, that resulted in 57 deaths.
Also yesterday, thousands of protesters hit the streets of Athens and other cities across the country, as labour unions called a 24-hour nationwide strike over the tragedy.
“Suffering must be followed by catharsis,” Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greek state minister responsible for infrastructure and transport, told a press briefing. He also apologised for the worst railway tragedy in Greece, pledging swift steps to complete all necessary works, to upgrade the system and prevent such accidents in the future.
Gerapetritis announced an increase in the state budget, to address understaffing and shortage of railway equipment. He said, the government would step up procedures to fill in the gaps, in the signaling network and upgrade the safety system.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has also publicly acknowledged the state’s chronic mistakes for the state of the railway system.
According to police estimates, approximately 30,000 people took to the streets in central Athens yesterday, calling for “justice” and “modern and safe public transport.” Similar protests were held in several other cities, including Thessaloniki, in northern Greece.
They were organised by the umbrella union of civil servants, ADEDY, labour unions of mass transportation, and students’ and teachers’ associations, among others. Many of the crash victims were university students, returning to class, after short holidays.
“Me and my friends would take this train route very often. If it was someone I knew (among the victims), if it were me, obviously I would want someone to come here and shout for me,” Lefteris, a student of physiotherapy said, during a protest in Thessaloniki.
“As a mother, what happened hurt me a lot. I feel huge disappointment, tremendous rage,” said Fotini, another protester.– NNN-AMNA
