Prime Minister’s Statement:

“Good morning, first of all, let me wish you strength in the difficult task you are taking on as the new presidents and CEOs of OSE and ERGOSE.

I wanted to meet today with representatives of Hellenic Train to state in the most categorical terms that the restructuring of our railways is not only a general demand of Greek society, but is now also my personal bet and that it is also the content of taking political responsibility on my part. It is an acknowledgment of the long-term pathogenesis that led to this accident, but also a refusal to capitulate to the causes that caused it. And for these reasons, we all declared war, and we must win this war.

My purpose is to encourage you in the difficult task before you. You get two wounded Organizations, let’s not kid ourselves, that need to get back on their feet. And as we have said with the Minister and as I expect you to announce today, the first priority is a safe – I emphasize safe – plan for the immediate reopening of our railways, perhaps, as you indicate to us, with limited traffic, but with the maximum possible additional measures for the protection and safety of passengers, as well as those who work on our trains.

And, of course, the second defining priority, which primarily concerns ERGOSE, but also OSE, with which we must cooperate, as well as Hellenic Train, is the acceleration of the complete installation of the remote control system in the central axis of the country.

I believe that it is your duty to raise the morale of the workers, and I believe that they, too, should become the face of the new updated face of our trains.

We have heard dialogues that evoke both anger and shame. I personally refuse to believe that they are the norm, but even as an exception, they unfortunately cost lives, and therefore such behavior can no longer be tolerated.

And I also believe that soon the opinion of the Expert Committee, as well as the technical assistance that we have requested from the European Union, will allow us to draw up a medium- and long-term plan for the work of the railways already in 2030.

We have a lot of work. I believe that we have the know-how. We will also find additional expertise from the European Union. We will provide the resources needed to enable our country to have the trains we deserve. And let me emphasize here that it is of the utmost importance to me that trains and lines operate in absolute safety before we discuss the future expansion of our trains. I think this should be the main concern. As well as securing stable funding for OSE to be able to service our lines as required by our own rail network.

Finally, I want you to know that I do not intend to consider this issue as an area of ​​partisan disputes. Our adversary here, too, is the deep state of anachronism, which, unfortunately, manifested itself more intensely in our railways, perhaps than in other areas of state administration. We must fight those islands that resist modernization. We have to fight – and I say this bluntly – also with our own bad “I”.

We need the cooperation and support of everyone. You know very well that both the Minister of State, who has assumed responsibility for the paramount task of reorganizing our railways, and I will be at your side. We don’t have much time at our disposal and I think we all need to push ourselves to reach our goal.”

The meeting was attended by OSE Presidents and Managing Directors Panagiotis Terezakis and ERGOSE Christos Palios, as well as Hellenic Train Managing Director Maurizio Capotorto.

On the government side, the Minister of State, also responsible for infrastructure and transport, Giorgos Gerapetritis, Minister of State Akis Skertsos, Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Bratakos, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Representative. Yannis Oikonomou and Dimitris Tsiodras, Director of the Prime Minister’s Press Office.