All Greek gov'ts, past and present, share responsibility in train accident, says premier

ATHENS

All governments that have ruled Greece, past and present, share responsibility in a recent train accident that claimed dozens of lives in the country, its prime minister has said.

"We are all to blame. And let's confess this with courage. From governments and administrations that for years stalled a critical project to certain trade unions that prevented any evaluation of our railway staff," Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in remarks opening a Cabinet meeting in Athens, the state-run AMNA news agency reported on Thursday.

Once again apologizing for the accident that occurred last week on Tuesday night in the northern Larissa province, Mitsotakis added: "We take responsibility, and we cannot, should not, and do not want to hide behind a series of human errors."

The prime minister also vowed to take immediate measures to improve railway safety.

The main opposition SYRIZA party, however, questioned his administration's ability to deliver on these pledges.

"How convincing is he, trying to convince us that what he didn't do four years ago, he will do a few days before the elections," party press representative Popi Tsapanidou said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the party argued that the premier failed to keep his promise for an "efficient state," accusing him of allowing political patronage, lack of merit, and decay of infrastructure and services to dominate.

The opposition Greek Communist Party also released a statement on the matter, saying Mitsotakis was distorting the facts after failing to prevent the mobilization of young people and workers after the accident.

They are wrong to think they can now cover up the real causes and the culprits, it added.

Athens-based daily I Avgi revealed that new charges had been filed against the inspector of the Greek Railways Organization (OSE) who left a 59-year-old stationmaster on the night shift in the Larissa area on the night of the accident, and against two other station masters who left their post earlier than they should have.​​​​​​​

Last week, a passenger train collided with a freight train around the town of Tempi in the northern Larissa area.

The official death toll stands at 57, including many university students and nine train crew members.