68 Posts in Transportation

The city is organizing the Half-Marathon along with a 5km Road Race and a Family Run in the same morning. The Half-Marathon will take place from 09:00 to 12:00 noon, starting from and returning to the Monument to the Unknown Soldier at Syntagma Square. Several major streets will be affected, including single lanes on Alexandras, Kifissias, and Vassilissis Sofias Avenues. From 09:30 to 09:55, the Family Run, including the disabled, will start at Vassilissis Sofias across from Benaki Museum and return to Syntagma. The OPAP 5km Road Race will take place from 11:45 to 13:00, starting from Syntagma Square (near Mitropoleos), running past the Hilton Hotel to return through Panepistimiou and end up at Syntagma. Besides the gradual shutdown of streets to traffic, there will be a ban on parking on the roads affected. Measures will roll out as early as 05:00 and end around 14:00. (Detailed closures are available in Greek at https://www.astynomia.gr/2023/03/15/15-03-2023-kykloforiakes-rythmiseis-sto-kentro-tis-athinas-tin-kyriaki-19-martiou-2023-logo-diexagogis-11ou-imimarathoniou-athinas/)

In Athens, demonstrations related to the strike are scheduled at the Propylaia (Central Athens) at 11:30 a.m., in Klafthmonos Square at 11:00 a.m. and Syntagma Square at 11:00 a.m.  In Thessaloniki, demonstrations are planned at the Statue of Eleftherios Venizelos at 11:00 a.m.  Additional demonstrations are expected to take place throughout Greece during the day.   The following strikes are scheduled for Thursday, March 16, 2023 (12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.), unless otherwise noted: The National Railway will be on a 24-hour strike. The Attica/Peloponnese Suburban Railway will be on a 24-hour strike Ferry and boat employees will be on a 24-hour nationwide strike. Air Traffic Controllers in all airports throughout Greece will be on a 24-hour strike. Taxis will be on a 24-hour strike. Buses in Athens will operate only from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Trolleys in Athens will operate only from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Athens Metro (Lines 2 & 3) will operate only from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Athens Green Line Train (Line 1) will operate only from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Trams in Athens will operate only from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Buses in Thessaloniki will be on a 24-hour strike.   Other organizations may decide to join the 24-hour Panhellenic General Strike for March 15, 2023 without prior warning.  Please monitor www.apergia.gr and local media for last minute strike notifications.   Actions to Take: Review your travel plans. Contact your airline or travel company for assistance. Avoid the areas of the demonstrations. Exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests. Monitor local media for updates. Keep a low profile.   Assistance: U.S. Embassy Athens +(30) 210-721-2951 AthensAmericanCitizenServices@state.gov https://gr.usembassy.gov   U.S. Consulate General Thessaloniki +(30) 2310-376-300   State Department - Consular Affairs (888) 407-4747 or (202) 501-4444

The Athens metro and tram will only work between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., while buses will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. There will be no Proastiakos suburban railway services. Air traffic controllers and seamen will also take part in the strike.             The Athens Journalists’ Union (ESIEA) said journalists will strike a day earlier on Wednesday.   Public transportation in Athens affected by 24-hour strike on Thursday   Public transportation in Athens will come to a partial halt on Thursday, March 16, as a 24-hour nationwide strike has been called by the public sector workers union federation ADEDY and the private sector General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE). Greece's private and public sector unions are demanding that liabilities be assigned to those responsible for the fatal Tempi train collision on February 28, and they also demand safety in the country's transportation overall. Athens metro & tram Metro lines 1 (ISAP), 2 (red line) and 3 (blue line) and tram trains will only run from 10:00 until 15:00, to facilitate the transportation of people attending rallies in central Athens. Athens buses & trolleys Buses will hold work stoppages from the start of the shift until 09:00 and from 21:00 until the end of the shift, the OASA staff union announced on Tuesday. They will run normally between 09:00 and 21:00, leaving their depots at 8:30 in the morning. Trolley buses in Athens will run from 09:00 until 21:00 on Thursday, as announced the ILPAP-OSY Workers Union on Tuesday. The bus routes operated by KTEL intercity coaches will run as normal. Rail workers Panhellenic Federation of Railway Workers will also participate in the strike, they said, although national railway services have been paused since March 1, following the Tempi rail accident. Thessaloniki transport Only 50 buses, operated by skeleton staff, will run in Thessaloniki on Thursday, while the Airport (N1) night line and the special service for the disabled will operate as normal, said the Urban Transport Organisation of Thessaloniki (OASTH).   Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air cancel all flights on Thursday   Air carriers Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air cancelled all their domestic and international flights scheduled on Thursday (March 16), due to the participation of the Greek Air Traffic Controllers Association (GATCA) in ADEDY's 24-hour nationwide strike, they said on Tuesday. Passengers can book alternative dates on www.aegeanair.com and www.olympicair.com, or call Aegean on 801-1120000 (from a landline), 210-6261000 (from a mobile phone), and Olympic Air on 801-801-0101 (from a landline) and 210-3550500 (from a mobile phone).  

The announcement in detail: "Hellenic Train announces the running of buses, from Wednesday 15 March, to transport passengers on certain routes, until rail traffic is restored. Details will follow with a further announcement tomorrow." It should be noted that today, Monday, the Minister of  infrastructure and transport, Georgios Gerapetritis, had a meeting with the Federation of Railways and Fixed Track Vehicles (POS-MST). The railways in their statement note that during the meeting, "the minister was informed by us extensively about the chronic pathologies of the Greek Railways, while it was emphasized that none of these problems have been resolved despite our repeated and targeted efforts to we highlight them in all possible ways". The announcement continues by stating that, "Mr. Gerapetritis informed us that the intention of the Government is the safe restart of the Railway as well as that he will soon make official announcements within the above framework. On our part, our non-negotiable position for an open, safe and quality Railway was emphasized again".

2 station managers and a supervisor were charged with endangering rail safety leading to the loss of life, a senior official involved in the investigation told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing judicial policy. The 3 have been summoned to provide additional testimony and have not been detained. The charges are similar to those filed against a 59-year-old station manager who was arrested in the wake of the Feb. 28 crash in northern Greece and is currently in pre-trial detention. Protests in Athens and other cities continued Thursday, following large rallies and strikes nationwide a day earlier to protest the government’s response to the head-on collision along Greece’s main rail route, outside the northern town of Tempe. The disaster involving a passenger train and a freight carrier has set back widely reported plans by Greece’s center-right government to call a general election for early April.   Hellenic Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis must hold elections before July. He vowed Thursday to press ahead with immediate and longer-term safety improvements that include higher staffing levels and stricter staff supervision along the rail network. He repeated a public apology for the crash but added that previous governments also shared responsibility for long-term failings regarding rail safety. “I take responsibility. We can’t — we don’t want to, and we should not — hide behind a series of human errors,” he told a televised meeting of Cabinet ministers. Popi Tsapanidou, a spokesperson for the main left-wing opposition party, Syriza, called the apology insincere. “Mr. Mitsotakis should realize that he did not become PM the day before yesterday,” she said. “He has been governing for the past  4 years.”

A passenger train with 350 people on board, most of them university students, collided with a cargo train in central Greece on February 28th in the country’s deadliest rail disaster. “I want to reiterate a public apology on behalf of those who ruled the country over the years, and mainly personally,” Mitsotakis said during a cabinet meeting. “I assume responsibility.” The crash has stirred public outrage and protests against a political system which has repeatedly ignored calls by railway unions to install and maintain digital safety systems and hire more staff.   On Wednesday, tens of thousands rallied outside Parliament in Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and other cities across Greece in the largest street demonstrations the conservative government has faced since being elected in 2019. The government, which was initially planning to call elections in coming weeks as its term ends in July, has blamed the crash mainly on human error but has also acknowledged deficiencies mainly due to underinvestment and neglect – a legacy of Greece’s debt crisis.             Mitsotakis outlined his government’s priorities on Thursday, which included a transparent investigation into the causes of the crash and compensating the families of victims. He said that more than 270 million euros would be invested in railway reform and pledged to hire more staff and improve safety by installing digital control systems along the railway network by the end of August.   “We are together in this trial,” Mitsotakis said, adding that young people and their parents had “every right to be angry.” But the leader also called on protesters to not allow anger to split society. “It is important to give room to sorrow and anger. But we should not allow it to become a spark that will cause divisions,” he said, just before another planned rally by university students in Athens. [Reuters]

In its press release issued on Monday, ADEDY has also called for a mass protest rally at 12:30 at Klafthmonos Square in central Athens. Several protest rallies and strikes have followed Tuesday night's collision of a passenger train with a freight train that has claimed the lives of 57 people, most of them undergraduate students. ADEDY said that the stike is being held "to demand - together with all the workers and the people - an end to the policy of privatization, and that the real responsibilities for the murderous crime of the Tempi train crash be attributed" to those responsible. In the same vein, the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO) announced a 24hr strike that will keep all ships docked nationwide on March 8. PNO also demanded that light be shed on all aspects of the collision of the two trains, and that all relevant measures be taken for safe land and sea transportation. The Greek Primary Teachers' Federation (DOE) also announced that they would be joining ADEDY's nationwide strike on Wednesday and attending the Athens protest rally. In relation to last week's tragic train crash, DOE noted that "all teachers, together with parents and students, can demonstrate our power and our determination not to remain silent, and to demand that responsibilities be identified without compromises and cover-ups of the truth." Meanwhile, the railworkers' union on Monday announced that they are extending their nationwide strike mobilization through Wednesday. All train services carried out by Hellenic Trains, including all Athens suburban railway services, have been suspended since last Wednesday. Railway workers' unions said that "we are fighting for the safe running of trains, but also for the truth to shine and for the culprits of the tragic train accident to be found, regardless of how high up they are." Buses and trolleys will also remain stationary on Wednesday, as the Athens Urban Transport Organization's (OASA) workers' union announced their participation in the strike mobilization. In its statement, OASA's union said that they demand a safe and modern public transport and measures for the safety of both staff and passengers. More specifically, the hours of operation for mass transit during the 24-hour strike called by the Civil Servants' Confederation (ADEDY) and the Athens Labor Center (EKA) were updated on Tuesday evening as follows: ATHENS METRO, TRAM: Lines 2 and 3 (red and blue lines) will only operate from 12:00 noon to 16:00. This includes Athens metro schedules to and from the Athens International Airport. Line 1 (Piraeus-Kifissia) and tram schedules will only operate from 11:00 to 17:00. The Athens metro and the tram will not operate otherwise on Wednesday. BUSES, TROLLEYS: Athens city buses and trolleys will not operate at all on Wednesday. Urban buses operated by KTEL will run on their regular schedules. RAILWAYS: The Hellenic Trains will not operate at all during the strike, as announced by their staff after the deadly train collision in central Greece on March 1. The suburban trains (proastiakos) will not operate, either. TAXIS: Taxis will operate normally. As announced earlier by ADEDY, a main rally will be held in downtown Athens at Syntagma Square at 12:30. "Deeply shocked by the railway tragedy at Tempi, (mass transport employees) demand that those responsible be identified regardless of how high-level they are, and call for upgraded and safe public transport," staff said in announcing their actions. 

Labor unions say the rail network has been severely weakened by cost-cutting and under-investment, a casualty of the debilitating debt crisis which afflicted Greece from 2010 to 2018. Hellenic Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has acknowledged decades of neglect could have contributed to the Feb. 28 disaster. "We cannot, we don't want and we will not hide - as the PM said - behind human error," government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou told reporters on Monday. He said Mitsotakis would seek additional European Union funding to maintain and rapidly upgrade the existing network. Greece was also seeking know-how from EU partners on improving rail safety, he said. He did not say how much funding the government would seek or give more details. The European Union will provide Greece technical support to help modernise the railways and improve safety, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on Twitter after speaking to Mitsotakis on Monday. "Rail safety is paramount," Von der Leyen said. She did not mention additional funding. The site of a crash in which two trains collided is seen near the city of Larissa A station master on duty at the time of the Feb. 28th crash has been held in custody pending trial. GROWING PROTEST Anti-government protests erupted across Greece after the train crash, the country's worst, including a rolling strike by rail workers that has shut down the network. They will be joined by government workers, teachers and students on Wednesday for a major day of protest, unions said. On Monday, protesters placed empty chairs with red carnations outside the transport ministry, and held placards reading "Our lives matter" and "Murderers." Railway workers' unions and train drivers have extended their strike until at least Wednesday, saying safety systems have been deficient for years. ADEDY, an umbrella union which represents hundreds of thousands of workers, called the train crash a "murderous crime", calling for a reversal of privatisation policies and accountability for those responsible for the disaster. Greece sold its state-owned railway operator under its international bailout programme in 2017 to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. Now called Hellenic Train, the company is responsible for passenger and freight, while Greek State-controlled OSE is responsible for rail infrastructure. Authorities have suspended the busy rail route that connects the capital Athens with the northern city of Thessaloniki pending investigation into the disaster, in which two services on the same track were involved in a head-on collision. Almost all the victims, many of them university students, were in a fast-speed passenger train which hit a freight train.

Protests continued to reverberate days after a head-on collision of a passenger train and a freight carrier on the Athens-Thessaloniki route late in the evening of February 28th, 2023. Clashes erupted between police and demonstrators in Athens on Sunday, after thousands rallied to protest over the crash. The 59-year-old Larissa station master faces multiple charges of disrupting transport and putting lives at risk. The man, who cannot be named under Greek law, was questioned for 7 hours before a magistrate on Sunday before being detained. “For about 20 cursed minutes he was responsible for the safety of the whole of central Greece,” his lawyer Stefanos Pantzartzidis said. On Thursday, Pantzartzidis said that his client was devastated and had assumed responsibility “proportionate to him” but other factors were also at play, without elaborating. Railway workers say the country’s rail network has been creaking under cost-cutting and underinvestment, a legacy of Greece’s debilitating debt crisis from 2010 to 2018. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who blamed the crash on human error, acknowledged that decades of neglect could have contributed to the disaster. “As prime minister, I owe everyone, but most of all the relatives of the victims, an apology,” he wrote on his Facebook account. “Justice will very fast investigate the tragedy and determine liabilities.” After protests over the past 3 days across the country, some 10,000 people gathered in an Athens square on Sunday to express sympathy for the lives lost and to demand better safety standards on the rail network. “That crime won’t be forgotten,” protesters shouted as they released black balloons into the sky. A placard read: “Their policies cost human lives.” Railway workers’ unions say safety systems throughout the rail network have been deficient for years as a remote surveillance and signalling system has not been delivered on time. They have called on the government to provide a timetable for the implementation of safety protocols. Mitsotakis said on Sunday that if there had been a remote system in place throughout the rail network “it would have been, in practice, impossible for the accident to happen”.

This affects all train services carried out by Hellenic Trains, said the company, including all Athens suburban railway services. Railway workers have been striking since Wednesday, ever since Tuesday’s deadly collision, the biggest in Greece’s history, which killed at least 57 and injured several others. This new strike is a 24-hour one, but there seems to be no end to the rolling strikes in sight. In related news,Hellenic Train, the company that operates Greece’s trains (as distinct from network owner OSE, a state company) announced Sunday it will immediately compensate survivors and the victims’ families and will not make use of an exemption granted by the government. In a statement, the company says it will “fully comply with existing European legislation, so that the relatives of the deceased, [as well as] the injured and the passengers…are fully [compensated].” According to a regulation passed in 2007 by the European Parliament, rail operators are obliged to provide a compensation downpayment no more than 15 days after an accident or, in case of death, after the death has been ascertained. In case of death, the compensation cannot be lower than €21,000, the regulation states. The downpayment is made irrespective of final compensation and is non-refundable. In 2009, the Greek government of the day had exempted TrainOSE, as Hellenic Train was called back then, from the obligation of downpayment for a period of five years. That exemption was renewed in 2014 and in December 2019, under the present government.

At least 57 people were killed and dozens were injured on Tuesday when a passenger train with more than 350 people on board collided with a freight train on the same track in central Greece. The disaster has triggered an outpouring of anger and protests across the country, as well as a sharp focus on safety standards across the railway system. Advertisement · Scroll to continue   A station master in the nearby city of Larissa who was on duty at the time of the crash was charged this week with endangering lives and disrupting public transport. The station master, who cannot be named under Greek law, appeared before a magistrate on Saturday. His lawyer, Stefanos Pantzartzidis, requested an additional 24 hours to respond to the charges, saying he sought extra time after new information came to light concerning the case. "We weren't made aware of it until recently," he said, adding that the importance of the information was such that a postponement was required. He was not more specific. Outside the court building, people laid flowers and candles. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government has blamed the disaster on human error. Railway workers' unions also say deficient safety systems and understaffing are widespread throughout the rail network. The train, travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, was packed with students returning after a long holiday weekend. Police said 54 bodies out of 56 people reported missing by relatives had so far been identified - almost all from DNA tests as the crash was so violent. A 57th body has not been identified as no one has appeared so far to give a DNA sample. Bereaved families have vowed to seek justice. "It is a very difficult situation," a relative told Greece's Skai radio. "We will see how we will move (legally), we won’t let anything go, the families’ demand is that they don’t get away with it." Railway workers union have staged 24-hour walkouts since Wednesday. They extended labour action by 48 hours on Friday, demanding a clear timetable by the government for the implementation of safety protocols.    

This affects all train services carried out by Hellenic Trains, said the company on Friday, including all Athens suburban railway services. Railway unions said they will hold a protest gathering at Syntagma Square on Sunday morning. Railway services in Greece have been paused since Wednesday afternoon, following the collision of two trains at Tempi on Tuesday night, which has so far claimed the lives of 57 people.