The expert An. Dedes, speaking to SKAI, tried to explain – with the data he has so far – the reason why the two trains collided, stressing that the fact that there was no visual field played its role, but the most important was the signalers which did not work, neither now nor in the past.

“Basic evidence is emerging to draw an initial conclusion. The basic facts are that we have a line change, from the uphill line to the downhill line of the particular intercity that ran a route from Athens to Thessaloniki.

By order of the station master, because the driver cannot change the line by himself, the line has been changed and the train in Larissa entered the descent line instead of continuing up.

The reason why this was done will be clarified by the evidence that will emerge, i.e. if there was a problem with the electrification of the anode or something else.

What enhanced the progression of the accident was the non-functioning of the traffic light and signaling system of the specific line.

And if a mistake is made by a train driver or a station master and a train takes a different line, the safety valve is the light signaling, which did not work, just as they did not work before.

They weren’t working at all because from what I heard, although the systems were installed, both on the train and on the tracks, they weren’t updated to work. That is, the train software was not compatible with the other software.

People left because of the criminal negligence of those in charge and because the systems did not work. For me there is a traffic safety violation, which is a felony.

From the information I have, the intercity speed can reach 160 km at this point. If we multiply this speed by the mass of the six wagons, close to 300 tons, we get a huge momentum.

Correspondingly, in this train that was going down again, the signaling did not work and there was no visual contact – as one was coming out of the tunnel – so that they could brake even a little.”