Measure to consolidate the terms security of the itineraries but also of its infrastructure OSEamong them the establishment of a “Railway Police”, on the model of a number of other European states, has been proposed by the new Administration of the OSE to the competent authorities, reveals in an interview with APE-MPE, the President of the Organization and Yannos Grammatidis.

As he explains, “this is done in the context of the safety of the routes but also of the infrastructure and the railway equipment. Representatives of this new body will participate in the operations center of the OSE, which operates on a 24-hour basis to deal with emergencies.

The President of OSE, Mr. Giannos Grammatidis, emphasizes that “with a sense of responsibility, the new management of OSE undertook last April to reorganize the Greek railway through a series of projects, among which the transformation of the Organization into a single body with the absorption of ERGOSE and of the rolling stock until today managed by GAIAOSE”. “I believe, he adds, that the new body will be ready for operation from January 2025. The aim of this important reform is to induce economies of scale, to rationalize the operation of the Agency, to ensure faster decision-making and to adopt modern principles of corporate governance .”

More specifically, notes the President of the OSE, “the new entity fully assumes the role, responsibilities and obligations of the manager of the railway infrastructure and will be solely responsible for all the studies and projects carried out on the railway network, for the management of rolling stock as well as stations and other facilities owned by it. Finally, it will draw up a modern strategic and operational plan while being responsible for its performance which will be monitored by the relevant Ministry based on agreed performance indicators and measurable objectives.”

According to Mr. Grammatidis, “with its frequent decisions, the new administration completed lighting restoration, firefighting and surveillance projects with alarm and closed-circuit camera systems in the Platamon and Tempo tunnels, full operation of the Corinth Traffic Control Centers, Acharna Railway Junction, Lianokladi and Thessaloniki and completion of the Larissa Center and, finally, restoration and reinforcement of VHF radio communication along the entire length of the axis Corinth-Athens, Thessaloniki, Strymonas, Promahonas.

He placed in the implementation or commissioning phase a series of contracts for the maintenance of infrastructures concerning the infrastructure, the signaling and remote control systems and the GSM-RE, the surveillance of the tunnels and the guarding of facilities, the replacement of 90 automatic level crossings of old technology, etc., while through drones it already supervises the security of the network against theft, vandalism and damage on most of the railway axes.

The common component of all the above projects, he notes, is to ensure safety in the operation of the railway transport project but also to immediately deal with problems that had unacceptably accumulated for decades and burdened or kept the Organization stuck in an increasingly worse situation.”

Mr. Grammatidis states that the objective of the OSE is also to connect the network with the country’s ports, freight centers and industrial areas to enhance freight traffic, develop suburban connections to facilitate passenger traffic and develop modern interoperable connections with the trans-European railway axes.

Immediately upon assuming its duties, the new management began the modernization of the Organization by creating a Remuneration Committee, a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and an Audit Committee whose main concern is the continuous control of the management itself, the Organization’s compliance with modern principles of corporate governance and its opening to society through social and cultural actions. Among these actions are the concessions of the use of unused real estate to local communities for the creation of parks, cycle paths, etc., the concessions of the use of useless rolling stock to non-profit organizations and cultural associations, the screening of films in old railway stations throughout the country during the summer months, the participation of the Organization’s choir in cultural and artistic events in various cities, the support of small private railway museums, etc.”

During the TIF, a few days ago, the OSE and the German Railways signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the educational sector with the aim of exchanging know-how, information and the application of modern technologies in teaching methods and tools (such as simulators) so that the Organization can attracts new people to its ranks, to ensure continuous monitoring of good practices and developments with the final denominator of all the above the consolidation of safety in the railway operation, both as a feeling and as a substance. Already, finally, the OSE has ready a program for training school students and informing clubs and guardians on railway traffic safety issues which aims to reduce or finally prevent related accidents which are unfortunately very common in our country due to the inattention of vehicle drivers and pedestrians when crossing .x. from railway level crossings.

Odontotos extension up to Agia Lavra

The president of the OSE also emphasizes that “the vision and decision of the new administration is the utilization of emblematic properties of the Organization such as the Peloponnese Station, the Lefkas Area in Piraeus and the old Thessaloniki railway station, as well as the creation of tourist and cultural routes in places of natural beauty and In this context, we reopened the Odontotos on the Diakofto-Kalavryta route, where we will extend it to I.M. Agia Lavra and the train of Pelion.”

“OSE is changing with the strength and love of its people who for years have been the basis of its operation” concludes Mr. Grammatidis.