Greek railway workers extend strike over train crash

Greek railway workers went on strike for the sixth day on Monday to protest safety conditions after a train crash last week that killed 57 people.

The busy rail route linking the capital Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki has been suspended pending an investigation into the disaster on February 28, when two services on the same line were involved in a head-on collision.

Nearly all of the victims, many of them college students, were on the high-speed passenger train that collided with a freight train.

An ongoing strike by railway workers after the accident has paralyzed passenger and freight rail services in the rest of Greece.

Rail unions and train drivers extended their strike until Wednesday, saying safety systems across the rail network have been failing for years.

The incident also sparked anti-government protests across the country last week, including one that drew 10,000 to central Athens on Sunday, demanding better safety standards on the rail network.

A railway employee on duty at the time of last week’s accident was being held in custody. Unions say the country’s rail network is collapsing due to cost cutting and underinvestment, a victim of the debilitating debt crisis that plagued Greece from 2010 to 2018.

Authorities have not challenged this, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday acknowledged that decades of neglect may have contributed to the disaster.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.