A train driver was injured by broken glasses when the train serving the Thessaloniki-Drama route on Friday collided with a tree on the line near Lachanokipi.
As a result of the collision, the windshield of the train was broken and one of the two train drivers was injured and taken to the hospital, daily ethnos.gr reported.
The second driver of the train and general secretary of the Panhellenic Union of Traction Personnel (PEPE), Alexandros Iordanidis, pointed out to ethnos.gr it was a tree that had tilted dangerously due to the strong winds blowing in the area.
“It was within the track gauge and due to the speed the train had developed at that point, it was impossible to stop it in front of the obstacle,” he stressed.
Fallen trees and branches on the lines and the gross network is one of the main issues that train drivers have been raising for years both with the administration of the OSE, which is responsible for the infrastructure, and with the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, without, however, that the problem is solved.
“We had the commitment since the summer that some necessary contracts for weeding and deforestation on the lines would start immediately, initially in the most dangerous places and from the autumn on the entire network. Some contracts have started, however, as can be seen from today’s incident, the problem is very extensive”, Iordanidis underlined.
With 51 passengers on board the train returned to Thessaloniki, causing delays in other services, while some passengers were transferred to their destination by buses.
According to some other media, sources at rail operator Hellenic Train said that the train was moving at low speed due to the level crossings and the poor infrastructure in the area.
Greece’s rail authorities, the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), has reportedly ordered an administrative investigation to determine whether the train drivers had been warned about fallen trees on the line.
Earlier this week, strong winds caused a tree to fall on railway lines in northern Athens, resulting in the suspension of services in the area.
