Fewer trains in bid to cut OSE costs
The routes traveled by trains on the national railway network are due to be reviewed and probably cut as the government looks at ways of reining in the 7.5-billion-euro debt that has been run up by the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), sources said yesterday. The majority of routes do not make any profit for OSE and the likelihood is that a number of them will be removed from schedules. Last year, the railway network in the Peloponnese brought in 1.8 million euros but cost 26.5 million euros to run. Similarly, the network in Eastern Macedonia lost 24 million euros, while in Western Macedonia costs outweighed profits by 10.5 million euros. Officials at the Transport Ministry have embarked on the task of trying to slash costs while also ensuring that parts of the country are not left without some kind of train service. The revised timetable, which is due to be unveiled next month, is likely to lead to the frequency of trains on some regional routes being trimmed. One of the reasons for OSE’s financial problems appears to be the wages that it pays its employees. According to figures seen by Kathimerini, 1,681 employees were paid a total of 103 million euros in 2007, which means they received an average of 62,000 euros each. Although about a quarter of these payments is for overtime, it means that some train drivers earn more than 100,000 euros a year. OSE is currently being investigated in connection to the Siemens bribery scandal and the use of carriages for the transportation of goods without the necessary approval, which allegedly was facilitated by under-the-table payments to OSE officials.
