On February 28th, 2023, Greece witnessed the deadliest train crash in its history. A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in the Tempi Valley resulted in the deaths of 57 people and left dozens more injured. The passenger train, along the popular Athens–Thessaloniki route, was carrying mostly young people returning from a long holiday weekend. After the driver was mistakenly directed onto the wrong track by a stationmaster, the two trains sped toward each other on the same track and collided at 23.18.
For more than two years, the families of the victims – along with Greek society as a whole – have been demanding answers. The last words of 23-year-old Frantzeska Beza -“I have no oxygen” – have become a powerful symbol in the fight for justice. The huge explosion after the crash, which killed many people, has led to questions about whether the freight train was carrying dangerous or illegal materials. Many people feel that the authorities have not been honest about what really happened. Important evidence, including parts of the wreck and even human remains, was removed too quickly from the crash site. Anger has grown due to claims that the government tried to control the investigation and some believe that the State cares more about protecting itself than finding the truth.
The result of these alleged transparency issues has been an erosion of trust in both the government and the justice system.
A recent poll showed that over 80% of Greeks believe that the state failed to adequately investigate the tragedy. These concerns were also shared by the European Parliament, which in early 2024 warned about serious threats to democracy and the rule of law in Greece, especially in relation to the Tempi crash.
On February 28th, 2025, marking the second anniversary of the train crash, people in more than 270 cities across Greece and around the world held massive protests to honor the victims and demand justice. Air traffic controllers, train workers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and seafarers joined a nationwide 24-hour strike. In Athens, thousands of people filled Syntagma Square, just outside the Greek Parliament. Protesters voiced outrage at Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government, re-elected just months after the crash, for refusing to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the political responsibility behind the disaster.
In January 2024, Greece’s parliament rejected a request from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate two former transport ministers over the crash. One of them, Konstantinos Karamanlis, had resigned shortly after the disaster but was re-elected just months later with the highest vote count in his district. The decision not to pursue a parliamentary inquiry was widely seen as a move to shield political figures from accountability.
In response to public pressure and growing distrust, Greece’s National Organization for the Investigation of Air and Rail Accidents and Transport Safety released its long-awaited report on the causes of the Tempi collision. The findings confirmed that the crash was not the result of one mistake, but a catastrophic combination of human error, outdated systems, and years of neglect.
According to the report, the stationmaster on duty manually set the train’s route and then forgot to change it, instead of using the automated system, which would have ensured the correct turnouts. However, the report clarified that this individual error was only part of the problem. The control panel used to set routes was overly complicated, poorly designed and with no clear instructions. Communication was another major issue: the stationmaster gave a verbal instruction for the passenger train to depart, but the train drivers never confirmed it, and the stationmaster did not follow up. Greece’s railway system still relies on open radio channels that don’t ensure clear, direct communication, and even those were not used properly. Worryingly, the train drivers did not react when signs showed they were on the wrong track, as driving in the opposite direction had become normalized in the Greek railway system.
Beyond the events of that night, the report pointed to deeper, long-term failures. Years of financial crisis had weakened the railway system, leading to poor infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and severe staff shortages. The organization responsible for managing the tracks, the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), was found to repair problems only after failure, instead of taking preventive action. There was also no system in place to monitor whether stationmasters were doing their jobs safely or correctly. Despite the thorough investigation, the report still left some critical questions unanswered. Investigators said that they could not determine the cause of the fireball that erupted after the crash, as essential parts of the investigation were mishandled and key evidence was missing.
In March 2025, the government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote brought by the opposition, who accused it of covering up evidence and failing to fix the railway system. While Prime Minister Mitsotakis dismissed the motion and ruled out early elections, protesters outside Parliament clashed with police as tear gas filled the streets. More demonstrators shouted “Shame” inside the chamber and threw flyers reading “Get out!” before being removed by security.
To calm public anger, the Prime Minister promised to modernize the railway by 2027.Yet progress has been slow, and many promised reforms remain on paper. For grieving families and a shaken public, the question is painfully simple: Until then, should anyone feel safe getting on a train?
By Theodora Dimitriadou
16 May, 2025
