In her offices Greek train on Syngrow Avenue, the only department of the company that is still working intensively these days is the department “complaints”. The call center is either being rescued by passengers on the fatal train looking for their personal belongings, or by passengers who have booked a ticket and are now demanding a refund, or by those who call to express their outrage after a tragic event. railway accident from 28 February to Tempe.

approximately 1200 employees of the Italian company, including train drivers, conductors and administrative staff, were called upon at any moment to deal with the most serious crisis that has ever happened on the Greek railway. “That night, time stopped for us too. We mourn our colleagues, as well as all those who unjustly died in this railway tragedy, ”said K. Vasilis ZavoyannisPresident of the Greek Union of Railway Workers.

The first hours in the company’s offices

On that fateful night, on the third floor of the Greek Train, shift supervisors in train monitoring room, fix the “incident” at the height of Tempes. Despite their efforts to contact the drivers and later the conductors of the passenger train, this proved impossible. From that moment on, the “alarm” sounded.

“For fear of predation, some workers were sent to responsible fields “incognito””

“When we realized that something serious had happened, one notified the other and around midnight all our colleagues started arriving at the offices. As the hours passed, when we learned more details, we were seized with sadness and fear, ”says a company employee with 20 years of experience in the railway, who asked not to be named.

“That night we are waiting for instructions about how we should deal with the situation. Some of us expected to be sent directly to the scene of the accident or to the hospitals where the victims were taken, wearing company body armor, declaring to the whole world that we were ready to help. However, this did not happen. For fear of intimidation, some workers were sent to the responsible fields “incognito”, a Hellenic Train employee tells K, asking her to record her testimony anonymously.

Psychological support

In the days that followed, group leaders from Italy, specializing in crisis management, arrived at the company’s offices, and at the beginning of the week, a group of psychologists, through the HR department, took over the support of employees who had tragically lost their colleagues. but also to help them overcome the shock and uncertainty they feel.

“Thinking how colleagues will return to trains to carry out their duties, how they will sit under control, how people will treat traffic police officers, how passengers will behave towards us“, – the same sources tell K, recalling demonstrations under their offices in the first days after the accident, as well as a phone call about a bomb last Friday.

“The average age of train drivers and conductors is less than 35 years old.”

“Meanwhile, the staff of the company has been largely updated recently, mainly train drivers and conductors. Their average age is now less than 35 years old. Therefore, we have very young employees, for whom this is unprecedented, they have no previous experience. I believe that this will also play an important role,” they add.

The President of the Staff Union, Mr. Zavoyannis, notes that it will take time to heal all wounds. “We have not yet realized the scale of the tragedy. We will ask for psychological support for at least one year, with priority for train drivers and traffic workers.”

The next day

In the meantime, the railway can restart before the end of the month, “only in conditions of absolute safety,” as the new Minister of Infrastructure and Transport said yesterday George HerapetritisThe trade unions are making their own proposals these days and these days, establishing as raise the issue of security to return workers and passengers to trains.

“We ask that the station offices be staffed with two employees, as well as to introduce shifts of station chiefs at most stations, increase the number of intercity duty officers to three, reduce speeds and shorten routes. limited during the day,” says Mr. Zavoyannis.

The railway has a future in our country if the issue of safety is finally taken seriously, claims a Hellenic Train employee. “Just as everything changed in the field of international air transport security 22 years ago, the security conditions in rail transport will change in Greece today.”