Immediate interventions are being made railway networkas well as signaling and remote control projects with a view to commissioning the northern part of the railway network (Larisa – Thessaloniki) at the beginning of July and the southern part (Oinoi – Tiforea) at the end of September, as the Minister of State in charge of Transport and Infrastructure said today, George Herapetritis.

“Our goal is to fully commission the entire remote control system, including signaling and control centers, from the beginning of October,” he said.

At the same time, investigations into its causes are ongoing. tragic accident in Tempeand according to the Minister of State, the first opinion of the Committee of Experts is expected shortly after Easter, the judicial investigation continues on a priority basis, while the European Railway Organization has also launched an independent investigation.

In the meantime, as the minister noted, immediate restoration work is being carried out at key points in the network in order to meet the needs and increase the level of security. These are, according to Mr. Gerapetritis, lighting works in railway tunnels, fire detection and protection means. 24-hour checkpoints have also been set up at the entrances and exits of the tunnels, and police presence has been reinforced at critical points in the network. “We continue restoration work inside the tunnels, some of them have problems, old ones require intervention. We will also intervene more in the tunnels, which are bigger and older,” said Mr Gerapetritis.

“Battle with Time”

“We are in a battle against time,” Mr. Gerapetritis said, noting that meetings are constantly held both with contractors and with the agencies involved, i.e. OSE, which is in charge of the network, ERGOSE and GAIAOSE, which is in charge of supply. systems to wires. “Yesterday we had a meeting with all departments, and it was found that we are moving in accordance with the schedule,” the minister said.

Big thorn is a series of consumables for automatic braking systems (ETCS), which is a key component of the operation of the remote control system. “The purchase will be made by Hitachi, the only company that supplies certain systems. The minister held a meeting with company representatives and the Japanese ambassador to make sure the systems would be in Greece soon. “The problem is in the production line. We will have to prioritize future systems.”

Restarting routes

Mr. Gerapetritis noted that road rehabilitation is in full swing. A suburb of Athens – Kiato has not started yet, as there is still work being done inside the tunnels to improve it. Today, a commuter train runs to Magula, and after Easter, the line will run to Kiato. The goal is also to have most of the local routes up and running within the next week.

The Minister of State noted that the main goal is to return the normal functioning of the railway transport. The Athens-Thessaloniki intercity service currently has an average capacity of 150 passengers, while a Hellenic Train initiative to offer discounts has been discussed. for students and young people under 25 on all Intercity routes it will reach 50%.

Strengthening the personnel

Mr. Gerapetritis also mentioned the strengthening of the OSE staff. According to him, out of 117 positions announced last year (station chiefs, mechanics and technicians), 90 workers have been hired, and this year the recruitment of another 100 workers is advancing. The renegotiation of contracts for 200 people working on a service card has continued, and contracts for 165 crossing guards will also be extended.

Memorandum of Cooperation with French Railways

The Minister also noted that in the coming days a memorandum of cooperation with the French Railways will be signed on the transfer of know-how, training of employees and strengthening the work of the Greek railway. This memorandum is mainly about OSE and GAIAOSE on organizational and operational matters, not Hellenic Train, which is a private company and has taken over the commercial operation of the railway.

⇒ News today

Subscribe to kathimerini.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at kathimerini.gr