European Commission to monitor upgrading of rail network
The European Commission will take part in the investigation into the causes of the deadly accident at Tempe on February 28, and also monitor the implementation of the contracts for the upgrading of the railway network, according to a decision on Tuesday during contacts made in Brussels by the minister of state, responsible for infrastructure and transport issues Giorgos Gerapetritis.
The Commission will also be involved in the staffing of organizations related to the railways.
As far as the investigation of the accident is concerned, the government is expected to officially submit a request next week to the European Union Railways Agency (ERA) and the Commission, so that their experts can conduct their own independent investigation.
An initial discussion took place on Tuesday regarding the cooperation between the Commission and ERA on how to conduct this investigation. However, it will take at least six months to reach a conclusion.
Commission sources said that ERA will also identify specific problems and propose solutions concerning the interoperability of the rail network and, above all, its safety.
During his first visit in his new capacity to the Belgian capital, Gerapetritis met successively with Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira, Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, and Bjoern Seibert, head of cabinet for Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission.
The aim of these talks, Gerapetritis said, was “to create a railway framework that is safer and more attractive for citizens.”
To this end, the Commission was also asked for greater involvement in the issue of monitoring the implementation of the relevant contracts (e.g. 717) for automatic operation and signaling of the network.
The government itself committed to have completed the installation of the relevant systems, including the famous ETCS, by the end of September and to have carried out the relevant tests by then.
