The investigation into the fatal railway accident involving a passenger and freight train in Greece a year ago continues on three fronts. Some of the most critical findings currently concern the notorious ‘lost wagon/container’ that was not registered as part of the freight train service but was allegedly carrying illegal cargo, specifically dangerous chemical substances like xylene.
Evidence filed with the public investigator seems to showcase that specialists have located the containers in which these substances were stored. Vasilis Kokotsakis, the investigative specialist (and also fire specialist), submitted a supplementary report including visual evidence, which appears to confirm the suspicion of an undeclared container carrying substances like xylene.
Moreover, Kokotsakis also claims that video evidence shows that the first explosion after the collision occurred “inside the essentially illegal cargo carrying the flammable and explosive materials”. As mentioned, the specialist claims that he has also been able to locate and identify the containers in which the illegal or undeclared substances were stored, underlying that they were specialised “box containers for transporting fuel material” (COSHH).
Apart from the unregistered freight container, which makes the accident’s inquiry all the more intriguing, investigators also focus on two other fronts in their attempt to shed light on the situation. The first front concerns the actions taken hours or minutes before the accident. The second front concerns the state of Greek infrastructure and the infamous ‘contract 717’, which involved implementing traffic control systems that never occurred in practice.
Allegedly distorted evidence
The two trains collided head-on because they were transiting on the same line for a substantial part of the route. The first reports of the accident and statements from the government framed a station marshall on duty during the accident as the key person responsible since his “human error” resulted in the accident. Just a couple of days after the accident, Greek media revealed recorded conversations between the station marshall and the train drivers, where the first appeared to give the green light for the train to transit on the wrong line.
An investigative report by the Greek newspaper To Vima last week revealed that those recordings were purposefully heavily edited to serve the narrative that the station marshall was the sole responsible for the accident. The Greek newspaper found that the recordings included conversations that occurred with train drivers who drove different trains than the ones involved in the accident. It should be noted that these reports are still not fully substantiated as the investigation continues.
EU investigator gets involved
The infamous ‘contract 717’, which concerned the implementation of ERTMS systems in the Greek main railway axis, was never actually implemented. Understandably, this fact provides enough content and background on why the accident occurred. An old railway network without proper signalling and trains running at high speed were the ingredients for a disastrous recipe.
The ERTMS contract, with a budget of more than 17 million euros, was commissioned for implementation on the central Athens-Thessaloniki axis as early as 2007. The project was supposed to be ready by mid-2010. Since then, its completion has been extended six times, with the latest deadline for delivery being somewhere in 2025.
Indicatively, a few days before the accident, the EU Commission decided to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to comply with rules on railway transport. Specifically, Greece failed to fulfil obligations under the Single European Railway Area Directive, which dictates authorities must conclude and publish contractual agreements with railway infrastructure managers. The referral was explicitly concerned with ‘contract 717’.
Currently, an EU investigator is also involved in the investigation process. As a result, at least 23 executives of ERGOSE, the public company carrying out rail infrastructure works in Greece, will have to pass by their office and testify since they are being inquired about possible fraud concerning EU funds.
