Train safety gathering steam
The process of identifying all the level crossings in northern Greece and assessing their safety began yesterday as a prosecutor examined what caused an accident on Sunday night in which three people were killed. According to the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), there are almost 500 level crossings in northern Greece. OSE said that 234 have an automatic barrier system, 22 are manned by crossing guards and 228 are unguarded. Macedonia-Thrace Minister Giorgos Kalatzis yesterday ordered officials to check the number of crossings that fall within the region covered by the ministry. This data will then be used to assess whether safety at some crossings needs to be stepped up, which in some cases may mean that a guard has to be installed. Since February, 12 people have been killed and dozens injured in train accidents that have involved vehicles crossing railway tracks when they should not have. Sunday’s crash was allegedly caused when a truck attempted to cross a level crossing near the town of Drama, northeastern Greece, and smashed into an intercity train traveling from Thessaloniki to Alexandroupolis. A prosecutor from Drama is investigating the exact cause of the crash amid conflicting reports about how the accident occurred. Locals claim the barriers at the level crossing were up as the train was about to pass, thereby giving no warning to the truckdriver. OSE refutes this claim and says the barriers were working properly and were down as the train approached. OSE officials said they believe the truckdriver had been trying to pass in between the barriers to cross the railway lines.
