Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Greece on Wednesday to protest the country’s worst rail disaster as workers staged a one-day national strike. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Athens and Thessaloniki, Reuters reports, News.ro reports.

The February 28 accident claimed the lives of 57 people and sparked public outrage over the deterioration of the rail network. Striking workers say years of neglect, underinvestment and understaffing are to blame, a legacy of Greece’s decade-long debt crisis.

More than 40 thousand people, including transporters, students and teachers, marched in the center of Athens, chanting “Murderers!”. and “We’re all in the same car.”

A group of protesters clashed with the police, who fired tear gas into the crowd.

Thousands of people also took to the streets of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, where a group of protesters threw stones at the government building.

The protests coincided with a 24-hour strike by workers in various industries, which led to transport disruptions across the country.

Many of the approximately 350 people aboard the intercity passenger train that collided head-on with a freight train traveling on the same line were students heading north from Athens to Thessaloniki.

The disaster sparked protests across Greece last week. “You feel angry because the government has done nothing for all these children. Public transport is a disaster,” said a young protester. “We’re going to be here until things change,” another student said. “We are the youth of this country and we will not stop,” he promises.

The government promises to improve the railway system

The Conservative government, which originally planned to call an election in the coming weeks, pledged on Wednesday to repair the failing rail system. Transport Minister George Herapetritis said at a press conference that he understood the anger caused by the accident. “No more trains will run unless we ensure safety at the highest possible level,” he promised, apologizing for the worst train accident ever recorded in Greece.

Railway workers have been on a continuous 24-hour strike since last Thursday, bringing trains to a standstill. On Wednesday, the government suspended rail services for security checks.

Workers say their calls for improved safety protocols have gone unanswered for years, and they have vowed to “make it safe” to ensure accidents don’t happen again. “We have obligations to our peers and our colleagues who died in a tragic accident,” the main railway workers’ union said.

Greece’s largest public sector trade union, ADEDY, has taken part in a 24-hour strike. City transport workers left their workplaces as a sign of solidarity, disrupting the movement of the capital’s metro, trams and buses. The ships also remained at anchor in the ports, the sailors took part in the action of the union.

“This is not the time to be silent,” the teachers’ union said in a statement.

The government, whose mandate expires in July, blames the accident mainly on human error and flaws that it says have not been addressed in decades. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis entrusted the transport portfolio, left vacant after the resignation of the minister, Herapetritus, to one of his closest associates.

Herapetrit said that passenger rail services could be resumed by the end of March if security is ensured. He noted that the funds will be invested in the modernization of the infrastructure and the hiring of personnel, and also promised to shed light on the causes of the accident. On Wednesday, Gerapetritis was due to meet with transport experts from the European Commission, which said it would provide technical support.

Greece sold its state-owned rail operator, now called Hellenic Train, to Italy’s state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 during the debt crisis. The sale was a condition of the country’s financial rescue agreements concluded with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.