ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Striking labor unions disrupted mass transit in Greece on Wednesday to protest the deaths of 57 people in the country’s worst train disaster, which exposed major safety deficiencies.
The strikes halted ferries to the islands and shut down bus and trolley car service in Athens, where thousands were expected to attend union-organized protests against the government. Subways ran for a few hours to allow people to get to the demonstration.
A passenger train slammed into an oncoming freight carrier near the northern Greek town of Tempe on Feb. 28, killing dozens of passengers, including many university students, in burning rail cars.
Protesters gather in front of the greek parliament in Athens on March 5, 2023 during a demonstration following the deadly train accident late on February 28. – Violent clashes broke out between police and protesters outside the Greek parliament in Athens on March 5 as thousands attended a rally following the nation’s worst rail disaster that killed 57, AFP reporters saw. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP) (Photo by LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A stationmaster accused of placing the trains traveling in different directions on the same track has been charged with negligent homicide and other offenses.
But revelations of serious safety gaps on Greece’s busiest rail line have put the center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the defensive. He has pledged the government’s full with a judicial inquiry into the crash.
Senior officials from a European Union railway agency were expected in Athens as part of promised assistance to help Greece improve railway safety. The agency in the past publicly highlighted delays in Greece’s implementation of safety measures.
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