Greek trains will restart operations gradually as of March 22, beginning with the suburban railroad lines between Piraeus, Athens, and the International Airport, freight trains between Athens and Thessaloniki, and specific local lines in Greece, State Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Transport Giorgos Gerapetritis announced on Tuesday, ANA reports.
The Athens-Thessaloniki line – where the train collision occurred on February 28 that cost the lives of 57 people – will restart operating on April 1, Gerapetritis noted.
The minister’s announcement came after a meeting earlier in the day between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the heads of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), rail infrastructure management company ErgOSE, and train service providers Hellenic Train about restarting the railway system that has been suspended since the accident.
Among the measures the state minister announced were the obligatory presence of two stationmasters at each post, methods of communication between engine drivers and stationmasters, the reduction of train speed on segments of the lines that had no telesystem communications, and speeding up the hiring process of new staff.
The inspection of lines will require around 4 days, he added, while the gradual restart of operations throughout Greece will be carried out in five phases, with each phase rolling out every five days as of March 22.
Measures also include upgrading the seriousness of crimes of theft and receipt of stolen material and providing support measures to families of individuals who have died in railroad accidents in the last ten years.
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