Finding of true recording and null finding of cover-up characterized the Minister of State George Gerapetritis, responsible for Infrastructure and Transport issues, the opinion of the Committee of Experts on the accident in Tempedeclaring: “It would be good for those who criticized the Commission for its objectivity and the government for its intentions to do their self-criticism.”

As the minister mentioned, in the context of informing the journalists, the conclusion is made public, so that there is complete transparency in a matter in which there is reasonably a major interest of the society.

“We have committed to bring, in an extremely short time, an opinion of independent experts that will accurately and impartially record the data of the tragic accident. In 43 days the Commission completed an extremely complex and painstaking task. Despite what had been said out of political self-interest, that the Commission is manipulative and biased, as you will find, is a finding of actual record and not a finding of cover-up.” he said characteristically.

The finding thoroughly analyzes the circumstances of the accident, looks back at the railway regulatory framework and its shortcomings, records the route of contracts to upgrade safety systems and the delays in their completion. In relation to the accident, the conclusion highlights serious human violations of the current General Traffic Regulation and in relation to the railway’s organizational structures, it also points to systemic infractions, many of which have a long-standing nature.

Regardless of the reservations that may be raised about individual points of the conclusion for which there has already been an answer and there will be further clarifications, as the minister mentioned, the conclusion reflects the scientific judgment of the members of the Commission.

“It goes without saying that the opinion analyzes facts, does not judge” he stressed, adding that “to this extent, the task of assigning responsibilities falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the judicial function. And of course all the findings are subject to the self-evident regime of presumption of innocence of all those involved”.

The conclusion includes proposals to improve the functionality and safety of the railways. It is important that most of these proposals have already been implemented by the Ministry or are in the preparation phase.

In the immediate measures, they propose the reopening of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line, measures until the completion of the installation of light signaling which increase the level of safety, always provided that the traffic is carried out with telephone blocking, concern two distinct areas: the strengthening of the human factor – ensuring the functionality of the technical equipment, maintaining the infrastructure of the line, technical works on bridges and tunnels, preventing vandalism and theft in the network by tightening the framework and reducing the morale of the workers.

In terms of medium-term measures, they propose the installation of light signaling, remote control and ECTS in most of the rest of the network, the modernization of railway stations, they propose a new administrative model. Restoring trust in the railway, highlighting the environmental benefits of railways.

Regarding long-term measures, the Commission proposes the construction of new lines. A basic condition for the development of rail transport in Greece is the existence of the appropriate infrastructure. Given that the infrastructure projects that are being carried out or planned will be completed, the Greek railways are expected to have the minimum infrastructure needed to play a competitive role in Greece and in the wider region.

According to the Minister of State, the network has reopened with strict security conditions, and the response of the passenger public is extremely positive with very high occupancy rates that reached 100%, which proves the trust that is gradually being recovered. With regard to additional staff, with legislative provisions passed, the recruitment through ASEP of 140 people and the reinstatement of 160 level crossing guards, whose contracts had expired, proceed immediately.

The tunnels have been checked and the necessary lighting and fire protection/fire detection interventions have been made. The offenses of theft and theft of railway material have already been legally upgraded to felonies, while ELAS has been activated at key points to guard the network.

As regards signaling and remote control contracts (including the ETCS system) these are progressing rapidly and will be completed within the stipulated time at the end of September this year.

In the context of the upgrading of the railway in Greece, there have been important international collaborations in the last 45 days. On the one hand, an agreement has been reached with the European Commission and the European Railway Agency on the evaluation of the organizational model of the railways and the assessment of the causes of the accident (with a horizon of completion of the relevant report in September 2023). At the same time, the Ministry forwards to the Commission the funding requests for the maintenance and expansion of the network. On the other hand, an agreement has been reached with the French government and the French railway company SNCF to provide expertise to the OSE in various fields, including the provision of training in critical railway specialties, where expert opinion identifies possible deficiencies. For this reason, a French delegation led by the Minister of Transport will be in Athens next week for the signing of a relevant memorandum of cooperation. As the minister revealed, he is also in contact with the Italian Minister of Transport, with whom, in addition to the communication he will have in the coming days, he will also seek to have a personal meeting.

The Greek government continues on the path of responsibility for the full and complete clarification of the Tempe accident and the return of the railway to a safe and functional means, noted Mr. Gerapetritis. To related questions, he repeated that the conclusion is not binding for the investigative investigation and is not a judicial judgment.

He pointed out that on the night of the accident, both the traffic control panel and the local remote control functioned normally, however, although the automatic marking of the traffic was an obligation, as it turns out, it was not carried out automatically, as stipulated by the railway traffic regulation.

Finally, the minister gave credit to the railway workers and OSE and ERGOSE administrations for the efforts being made both to recover the network and to return the passengers to the medium under safe conditions.