The necessity of repairing the trains and intensifying the upgrading of the railway network of Patras, points out the former prime minister and MP of PASOK-KINAL, George Papandreouwith his question to the Ministers of Infrastructure and Transport and Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, on “Maintenance and safety measures of the Diakopto-Kalavryta toothed railway, Suburban railway and construction of the railway connection of Patras and Western Achaia”.

In his question, Mr. Papandreou speaks of obstruction in the start of the planned infrastructure projects for the maintenance of Suburban Patras and attributes dangerous state inaction, as a result of which, as he notes, “serious issues of citizen and transport safety are created”.

As Mr. Papandreou emphasizes “after the recent dangerous landslides that occurred a few days ago in the region and have created serious problems, there is a need for the immediate completion of the infrastructure projects”.

“It is necessary for the state and the competent bodies to set up a reliable civil protection system, with the imperative to improve the plans to deal with dangerous natural phenomena with holistic and responsible actions to suppress the immediate and long-term effects”, underlines the former prime minister and adds :

“A few days ago – and by a tragic coincidence, just one year since the painful train accident in Tempi – a new incident took place in our area, which demonstrates dangerous inaction, as 90 of our fellow citizens and passengers on the Odontotos line to Kalavryta, were left for more than two hours immobilized inside the train, due to landslides.

Similar phenomena are also observed on the Athens-Patras National Highway, at the height of the Aegis, with the result that the Old and part of the new National Highway are often closed and it is purely a matter of luck, the fact that we have not yet mourned new victims”.

Mr. Papandreou calls on the relevant ministers to answer, among other things:

  • What is the exact physical scope of the project, what is the expected start date of the works, what is the total cost and at what stage are the contacts with the competent departments of the European Commission regarding the implementation of the railway line in Patras?
  • What is the exact timetable for the completion of the OSE contract for the heavy maintenance of the Suburban Patras railway line and the railway network connections with critical areas?
  • If the necessary risk mapping and risk assessment of the area has been done, with regard to the transport and road network.