Two statements by experienced station supervisors about Tempe disaster, the current and retired railway worker, agree on the same conclusion: if there were no understaffing, there should be two people in the duty department of the Larisa station in each shift. Not only for the senior to help or correct his junior colleague, but mainly for practical reasons. One station master should have visual contact and ensure the smooth departure of the train, while the other should deal with the exchange of telegrams and coordination with train drivers and stations on both sides. Then together they should check the traffic table to avoid mistakes. However, on the night of February 28, this did not happen.

“There used to be two station masters on each shift, but in recent years there was one on each shift because there were no staff,” the acting station chief testified to authorities investigating the Tempi accident. “After the recruitment of new employees and their certification at the end of January, two station chiefs work in the morning and afternoon shifts and one in the night shift,” he added. And this staffing, it seems, was not enough to close the gaps in the system.

On February 28, passenger train No. 62 departed at 23:04 from Larisa station for Thessaloniki, but followed a downward track in the opposite direction. The head of the station has been at the station for several minutes already, and according to the corresponding program, between 22.00 and 23.00, at least one more senior colleague should be next to him. “He is inexperienced, and when traffic rules are violated, difficulties arise in cooperation,” the station chief, his colleague, who was on duty that day in Paleofarsalos, testified to the authorities about the one left in Larisa. According to him, at 22:45 he called the head of the station, who worked at 23:00, on a mobile phone to find out where he was, and he replied that he had left. “How long should I sit? Should I guard him? she reportedly told him.

According to the head of Paleofarsalos station, even if the train is delayed, if a replacement appears, the worker of the previous shift may leave, but “usually no one leaves when it is busy.” In these minutes, until 23.00, commuter trains 62 and 2597 were supposed to arrive in Larisa, and then the train was supposed to go to Volos. A retired railroad worker who has worked in Larisa for more than 30 years testified that stationmasters must leave at the end of a shift, which, however, has been extended by an hour to ensure smooth delivery and collection. “This is a responsible position, it requires dedication, attention and concentration, especially at such large stations as Larisa,” the retired railway worker said about his position.

The head of Paleofarsalo station claimed that he was looking for his colleague, who had a shift until 23.00 at Larisa station, but he left. “How long should I sit? Will I guard him?” she answered him.

red lights

From the same readings emerges a picture of a network where, for many years, traffic was carried out in methods reminiscent of the old days, with the exchange of telegrams and communication by radio or mobile between stationmasters and drivers to find out if the line was open and safe, despite the red signaling.

According to a retired railway worker, the remote control, that is, the train traffic and safety system, worked from November 2007 to the summer of 2019. It was located in an isolated room and traffic was regulated with the help of computers. The track of each train’s movement was displayed on a central board in the Larissa station office with lights that turned red as the train passed. According to him, the main reason that the remote control stopped working in Larisa was the lack of personnel for its staffing, as well as the people who serviced the machines. Also, as he testified, a fire near Larisa in 2019 destroyed a substation that had not been changed for years.

The head of the Paleofarsalo station testified to the authorities that for the past four years the road shield in Larisa had been damaged and movement was carried out with the help of keys. He said that since the beginning of November 2022, Alstom had been repairing the switchboard, and that the station’s old foremen were training him to use the new ones.

OSE in a recent post clarified that the remote control of Larissa was significantly limited by the Litochoro fire in July 2015 and since then only the route from the entrance to Larissa to the entrance to Nei Pori could be tracked, while there was no remote control capability for routing between stations. However, after a fire in 2019, it was completely out of order. According to OSE, in November 2022, as part of the modernization, it was returned the ability to track the route from Larissa to Neios Poros without a traffic light indication and with the ability to follow the course for about five kilometers after the Larissa station.