OSE responds with a long announcement at the conclusion of the Railway Regulatory Authority, which concludes that both the station master of Larissa, who is in custody for the national tragedy of Tempe, and the entire series of station masters who were trained with him are not sufficiently trained. As noted by OSE, these hours are hours of responsibility, not diffusion of responsibilities.

The announcement of the OSE is as follows:

“It is extremely unpleasant in the midst of a very difficult and painful situation for Greek society and the Greek railway, for official bodies to express opinions and take decisions without thorough investigation and documentation of those referred to in them, especially when there have been participants in them on which they decide.

Regarding the Press Release of the Railway Regulatory Authority (RAS), today Friday 17.3.2023, the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) notes the following:

With the document dated 28.7.2022 on “Basic Training of Traffic Branch Personnel”, which was communicated to RAS, among others, the Organization’s Education and Training Directorate approved the implementation of the Basic Training of Traffic Staff for Station Masters. The above document describes the process and the subject of training which are completely compatible with the Study Guide that the Regulatory Authority itself approved with its decision of 29.7.2021.
In this circular, the way in which the training is carried out is explicitly mentioned. In addition, with the document from 9.3.2023, the Organization informed the Regulatory Authority in detail about the implementation of the B cycle, providing:
A) The attendance sheets – practical apprenticeship per month from all Inspections of the Organization (Athens, Patras, Larissa, Lianokladi, Thessaloniki) in which the station masters under training were found with a report per thematic unit to the trainers per Inspection.

B) The teaching material of the theoretical education which has been separated into two cycles, so that it goes along with the stage of the educational process and functions as adjunct and auxiliary to the practical apprenticeship in real conditions.

Certificates of completion of the procedure were never requested (neither during the on-site inspection, nor with the Authority’s document of 9.3.2023 regarding the conduct of an ex officio investigation regarding the accident of February 28, 2023).

The certificates of completion of the educational programs are certified by internal correspondence of the involved Departments of the Organization and are available to any competent body upon request. Therefore, it was also at the disposal of RAS, which has the responsibility of control in matters of security.

The Organization, operating entirely within the statutory frameworks and realizing the sensitivity of the matter vis-a-vis public opinion, will respond with absolute precision, detail and documentation to everything that the Authority mentions (based initially on “strong indications”).

Until then, it is best to express publicly only definitive and substantiated conclusions. These are hours of responsibility for everyone and not hours of spreading responsibilities.”