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The Greek station supervisor accused of placing a dashing passenger practice into the trail of an oncoming freight practice was anticipated in courtroom on Saturday to face manslaughter fees within the deadliest rail catastrophe in Greek historical past.
However as Greek officers described the crash as a tragic case of human error, public opinion was galvanizing towards the federal government for years of security neglect — not towards a person who fellow rail employees and protesters say is being scapegoated.
“They wish to say it’s one man’s fault,” mentioned Antonis Bompotis, 26, who was amongst tons of of protesters who gathered on Friday in Larissa, a metropolis close to the crash web site. “Nevertheless it’s a authorities of murderers.” Outdoors the courthouse on Saturday, protesters held indicators criticizing the federal government for ignoring years of warnings {that a} rail catastrophe was inevitable.
“Wasn’t an accident, wasn’t a tragedy,” one banner learn. “It was state negligence and an assassination.”
The station supervisor, 59, who has not been publicly recognized, has privately acknowledged errors, in response to excerpts from his statements to the authorities, which have been revealed within the Greek information media. Radio recordings revealed by a Greek information web site present a practice driver being informed to disregard a crimson mild.
“Move the crimson sign,” the station supervisor informed the driving force late Tuesday evening, in response to the recordings.
Potential errors, although, are solely a part of the story. Rail employees say the visitors lights have been at all times crimson due to years of technical failures. Trains had been positioned on the fallacious observe earlier than, they mentioned, leaving employees to warn each other of oncoming trains solely by walkie-talkie.
“I’d cross myself each time for a crash to not occur,” mentioned Theodor Leventis, a practice security supervisor of 20 years. He attended a vigil for the practice’s victims in entrance of Larissa’s practice station on Friday. “I used to be positive it will occur,” he added.
Mr. Leventis, 65, retired two years in the past after engaged on the identical route the place the crash had occurred. “They will’t say a person is accountable,” he mentioned. “The one one accountable is the federal government.”
The Greek authorities was presupposed to have put in an automatic security system almost three years in the past, however it obtained extensions amid a contentious contracting course of. That system is meant to sound alarms and routinely cease locomotives in harmful conditions. Within the days after the crash, the Greek authorities has not defined why that system was so not on time. Neither have officers with the European Union, which spent tons of of tens of millions of euros over the previous decade to enhance a rail system that, by a number of measures, is the deadliest in Europe.
Railway unions have lengthy warned of looming catastrophe. Employees mentioned their fears began to mount after the monetary disaster that devastated Greece’s economic system in 2010. Railway staffing was sharply lower and unions have mentioned for years that their members have been overworked and assigned to vital stations with out correct coaching expertise.
Giorgos Apostoleris, a former station grasp, recalled being transferred just a few years in the past to Larissa on an hour’s discover. He nervous then about who can be held accountable if he made a mistake. Tragedy, he mentioned Friday, was all however inevitable. “It even took too lengthy for an accident to occur,” he mentioned in an interview.
Greek state information media reported that the Larissa station grasp had solely not too long ago been assigned to the put up after six months of coaching.
As not too long ago as final month, rail employees warned the federal government in a letter that they didn’t wish to await a coming accident “to see them cry crocodile tears,” and that intervention was pressing.
“We’ve tried strikes for years, now we have informed each authorities about these points, however now we have not discovered open ears,” mentioned Νikolaos Tsikalakis, a railroad switchman and the president of the employees union of the Greek nationwide railroad group. “So we got here to this tragic accident.”
Greece’s transportation minister resigned shortly after the crash, acknowledging that efforts to enhance the nation’s rail security system had been inadequate.
As Greeks laid bouquets of white roses on the rail tracks, in addition they cursed the federal government. At vigils, they lit candles and murmured that they didn’t “consider their lies” anymore. As they rode a bus within the plain on the foot of Mount Olympus, by the vehicles that eliminated damaged off carriages from the location of the crash, some commuters shrugged in worry.
“In the event that they solely blame a human mistake and don’t change the system,” mentioned George Gkonelas, 53, a commuter, “it’s going to occur once more.”
Chrysostomos Trimmis, Niki Kitsantonis and Giannis Giannakopoulos contributed reporting.
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