Answers to the countless “whys” behind the railway tragedy of Tempe the relatives of the 57 dead and the entire Greek society are asking.

After the apology of the 59-year-old station master, who was remanded in custody, other involved persons are called by the railway staff, with justice speeding up but also deepening, looking for responsibilities in all directions.

SKAI reveals the schedule of the Larissa station shifts, from which critical questions already arise, as to how many and who were on duty from the moment the fatal key was turned to the time of the fatal collision.

From this document it appears that the shifts are as follows:

06.00 – 15.00

14.00 – 23.00

22.00 – 07.00

The shift schedules “show” that when the two morning students start at 2:00 p.m., the two afternoon students come at 3:00 p.m., which should coincide by one hour with the one evening student who starts at 10:00 p.m. That is, they should be there from 22.00 to 23.00 at night 3 stationmasters on site.

This element is important as on 22.10 the suburban train passed, i.e. the moment the “key” was changed to pass (the suburban train).

The questions that need answers

  • How many Station Masters were present from 22:00 to 23:00 (ie the time the key was changed)?
  • Which Station Master did the “key” change (when the commuter train passed)?
  • Were others present?
  • Why no one for 58 minutes did not reset the key before Intercity departure?

What the station master, who is in custody, allegedly testified

In his apology, according to information, the 59-year-old station master of Larissa allegedly claimed that: “As the inspector has already mentioned, he had appointed two station masters for that particular day with a shift until 11 p.m. If the investigator asks for a copy of the shift sheet, he will find out the number of station masters and the working hours, which were nine hours.”

“The two station masters who were on the previous shift around 22:15 they left. And I stayed from then alone until 11.04 when the train left. “From a quarter past 11 the network was heaving with traffic and I was on my own to control the entire central section of the railway,” the station master is quoted as saying.

As for the key, which he forgot to turn, he reportedly claimed he has a “memory lapse”, that he can’t remember exactly what happened.

“I think for sure that I turned the key because it is a mechanical movement that happens automatically. But I’m running out of memory for the key. Due to my workload, unfortunately I don’t remember looking at that particular part of the board again later,” he is reported to have said.