New Democracy responds to the claims of former minister and current SYRIZA MP Christos Spirtzis with a statement.

Mr. Spirtzis, in his statements to SKAI, argued that the SYRIZA government had advanced the modernization of the railway network.

The announcement of New Democracy in more detail:

The disappeared Mr. Spirtzis appeared 10 days after the tragedy, at a time when the citizens demand truths that answer the “why” of the tragedy, in order to tell us, by spreading a series of lies, that SYRIZA is not to blame for anything. That the responsibilities are solely borne by the previous and the following and that the pathologies and attitudes that gave birth to the tragedy of Tempe do not concern them. At a time when a serious and substantial discussion is needed and accountability and accountability are needed, Mr. Spirtzis, who was a minister for 4.5 years, denies any responsibility for the problems and delays in the modernization of the railway. SYRIZA, with its announcement, completely covers Mr. Spirtzis.

Here are some first answers to his many lies:

Lie: “We delivered 68% of the project, but Alstom did not sign the studies”

Truth: The contract, which started at the end of 2014, while it should have been completed by 2016, was developed until 2017 partially. There had been a delivery of 32% of the deliverable, which unfortunately, however, “had very serious errors, as a result a percentage of no more than 18% was that which was genuinely operational in those two years.” The rest needed to be rebuilt. In 2017, the implementation of the contract actually stopped because there were serious mistakes in the implementation.” In addition, the famous 68% refers to funding absorption rates and not to operational departments which were delivered during the SYRIZA days to the OSE for use. Specifically: during the term of SYRIZA, 17 stations were delivered, out of a total of 52, of which half were reconstructed during the ND government at the expense of the public and 19 more were built. Regarding ETCS, until 2020 zero (0) stations had been delivered, while between 2020-2023 21 stations were delivered for use by the OSE, i.e. 40% of the project.

Lie: “In Larissa there was also a second remote control system that suffered a breakdown in 2019 and burned down and no one repaired it. Why didn’t anyone make it? They made 9.5 billion direct assignments.”

Truth: The local remote control system was fully operational from November 2022. In 2017 during the SYRIZA government, the local signaling station in Larissa was closed. The remote control was active, but according to an OSE document, it was not working, not allowing them to see anything but a very small section, until the 2019 fire, when it was destroyed. The new local station was handed over by ERGOSE in November 2022 and has been fully operational since then. So the station master could also plot the route electronically and see the train for 5.5 kilometers. He did neither. On the same day, the rest of the routes were carried out as normal with automatic marking, which proves that the system was fully operational.

Lie: “Under SYRIZA government there were always 2 station masters at each station”

Truth: There was never a requirement for two stationmasters. One only has to look at the service tables to see that. There are 3 shifts in which the work is divided. The regulatory framework provides that it is the supervisor who determines the shifts. SYRIZA never changed the framework to make the 2 stationmasters mandatory.

Lie: “We made a special invitation to get a discount for contractors”

Truth: This is something Mr. Spirtzis never did. It is one more of the many things that SYRIZA later projects, but never did.

Lie: “When I was Minister you could see where every train was”

Truth: Mr. Spirtzis confuses the remote control system that shows exactly where each train is, ie on which specific up or down line, and the simple navigation system that only shows the general position of a vehicle. In fact, there was a GPS system, but it did not show which tracks the train was on, just the location of the train. So when there are two lines, as in this case, there would be no way for the stationmaster to see whether he is moving on the right or wrong line. Therefore, it had absolutely no beneficial effect. On the contrary, in the local remote control system, which has been in operation since November 2022 in Larissa, each station master can see exactly the line on which the train is moving, before the train enters the station and after its departure. This system will be installed on the entire main axis by September.

An invitation has been sent to Mr. Spirtzis to attend the Transport and Trade Committee of the Parliament in a confrontational debate with the Minister of State responsible for transport matters, Mr. Gerapetritis, in order to capture the real situation with documents and data. Mr Gerapetritis will be there. Will Mr. Spirtzis be?