Commission wants to assist Greece in railway investigation and development
The European Commission wants to assist the Greek authorities in the official investigation into the causes of the Tempe railway disaster and in coming up with a railways framework that will be safer and more attractive to citizens, a government minister has said.
Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis, who is responsible for infrastructure and transport, discussed the possible collaboration on the railways with the Commission on Tuesday.
He held meetings in Brussels with Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira, Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, and Bjoern Seibert, who is the office director of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Good discussion with Greek Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on overhaul of the rail system following the tragic accident in February. I welcome the open spirit of cooperation and offer our EU technical assistance on all aspects of the reset: safety, reliability and competitiveness,” Ferreira tweeted after the meeting.
Good discussion with Greek 🇬🇷 Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on overhaul of the rail system following the tragic accident in February.
I welcome the open spirit of cooperation & offer our 🇪🇺 technical assistance on all aspects of the reset: safety, reliability & competitiveness. pic.twitter.com/8ZGc8nabv8
— Elisa Ferreira (@ElisaFerreiraEC) March 21, 2023
Briefing Greek correspondents in Brussels, Gerapetritis noted that a basic position shared by both Greece and the European Commission is “our desire to shift towards a better, more expanded, more popular railway.”
He said Greece will receive technical assistance from the Commission in developing the railways’ capabilities and structural organization.
Furthermore, Gerapetritis mentioned that Greek authorities will be in continuous cooperation with the Commission to monitor the electronic upgrade of European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) projects, which includes the signaling and remote-control systems.
The contracts must be completed by the end of September 2023 on the Athens-Thessaloniki main axis, he underlined, adding that he hoped that the automatic braking systems (European Train Control System, ETCS) will also be completed by then.
In addition, he said Greece will collaborate with the European Commission concerning the staffing of its railways with specialized workers, and enrich the country’s recently created air and rail accident investigation authority with specialists.
Greece has already requested that the Commission proposes experts that could help in an independent investigation.
Finally, Gerapetritis said that Greece will officially request that both the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and the European Commission become actively involved in the investigation regarding the causes of the accident.
European Commission technical experts are expected to visit Athens next week, he added. [AMNA, Ekathimerini]
