Greece’s Regulatory Authority for Railways (RAS) on Wednesday announced that it is summoning the Railways Organisation of Greece (OSE) and Hellenic Train SA to a hearing regarding alleged violations that led to the February 28 rail disaster at Tempi.
After completing an investigation into the tragic accident, irregularities were revealed in both the training of the station master on duty at the time of the accident and his transfer to the position, due to his age. [Some media reported that the promotion of the train master -a former luggage carrier – in this position was a “favor” by ruling New Democracy.,]
It also found that safety protocols were not followed by both the station master and the train driver.
The investigation was carried out by the competent Railway Safety and Interoperability Unit (RSA) of RAS and focused on two fields:
- In detecting violations concerning the regulations and provisions of the railway legislation.
- In the correct implementation of the Safety Management Systems which the Hellenic Railway Organization (OSE) and the Railway Company Hellenic Train S.A. are obliged to draw up and observe. through which they assess, control and prevent any risk.
Once the hearing is completed, RAS will issue its final decision regarding the accident, which will outline the alleged violations in detail and the penalties that are called for, as well as making binding recommendations for improving safety systems at railway bodies and proposals for an overall improvement of rail transport safety.
Check also on KTG: Experts’ Committee releases investigation findings
PS Where was RAS when train workers were officially complaining about safety issues in the rail net work?
