Rail company launches probe into fatal crash
The Athens Urban Rail Transport Company (STASY) has launched an investigation into the cause of an accident on the Athens electric railway (ISAP) tracks early Tuesday morning that left a 41-year-old maintenance crew member dead and two others injured.
The crash occurred after the brakes failed on a rail grinder which careened downhill on the track until it collided with an empty train that had been parked at Agios Nikolaos station to act as a buffer. If the buffer train had not been there, STASY workers representative Spyros Revythis said, the grinder would have reached the busy Piraeus terminal station with unforeseen consequences.
He said there had been five workers on board. “Some jumped off at Neo Iraklio station, but we lost our colleague. He was with the driver,” he said.
STASY said the investigation will focus on why the spare braking systems did not work, while responsibilities will be sought from the private contractor of the project.
