Gerapetritis:There were failsafes but the safety protocols weren't followed in the accident at Tempi

Railway safety protocols included a significant number of failsafe mechanisms but these rules were not followed in the case of the tragic accident at Tempi on February 28, Minister of State for transport Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Thursday, during a visit to the city of Larisa.

Gerapetritis was shown around a new Rail Traffic Control and Telemanagement Centre that is being completed at the city's railway station as well as the old local train monitoring system at the Larisa station master's office, which has a range of about eight kilometres around the station. The ultramodern new facility that is due to go into full operation at the end of June will be able to monitor the movement of trains from Domokos and Paleofarsalo up to Eginio, Pieria and cover a distance of 167 kilometres.

In statements after the visit, the minister noted that the government had made three commitments after the extent of the tragedy at Tempi, where 57 people were killed and scores were injured, became apparent: "The first commitment was that the investigation into the causes of the tragedy will not stop until it reaches the end, so that liability is attributed. The second was for the railroad to resume operation in conditions of maximum safety. The third was to strictly adhere to the time schedules for upgrading the services and security systems that concern telemanagement and signalling, as well as all the communications systems and automatic braking systems.

Regarding the causes of the crash, he said the expert report submitted a few days earlier was entirely unbiased and reflected the true facts, both on the crucial night and as regards the long-term systemic and structural problems of the Greek rail network. These findings have already been forwarded to the Larisa public prosecutor conducting the judicial investigation into the accident, he added.

The government had also delivered on its second pledge, namely the safe resumption of rail travel with improved safety measures, and was working to ensure the swift completion of contracts for management and signalling systems throughout the rail network, as well as modern braking systems on the main Athens-Thessaloniki line, he said.

Gerapetritis also stressed that the local monitoring system, which had been working on the night of the accident, could have prevented the train from ending up on the wrong track if it had been used to automatically chart the train's course, as it was supposed to.