Railway companies to be consolidated, gov’t announces
A single agency will be set up to manage the railway infrastructure in Greece by incorporating the three subsidiaries of state-run Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), the Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has said.
OSE, ErgOSE (which is responsible for railway infrastructure) and GaiOSE (which manages railway property and rolling stock) will be consolidated into a new company, Hellenic Railways, the ministry said.
The name, it added, “represents the new era of the railroad, having the task of overcoming the image of a problem-riddled organization culminating in the Tempe accident. In this context, we are called upon to create a strong and reliable image for the new organization.”
When Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras presented the plan to cabinet earlier, he also announced a strategic development and investment plan for the railway, which will be co-funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Existing staff will be supplemented by 600 new personnel, to be hired this year.
The ministry expects the consolidated organization will overcome the delays in implementing projects and remove the overlapping and duplication of responsibilities.
The new organization will be a state-owned limited company, whose board of directors will be government appointed.
The reorganization will not affect the operation of Hellenic Rail, the Italian-owned railway operator.
