Greek Minister: āWe have not done enoughā on railways
Nitos Mitarachi says the Greek government has made progress on the air, road and subway networks but not enough on rail
Greeceās Migration Minister has spoken to HARDtalkās Stephen Sackur about the train crash which killed 57 in the north of the country.
Speaking from Athens, Notis Mitarachi said that though there appeared to have been āmultiple human errors on the dayā, the government did not want to āhide behind human errorā and wanted to go āa step furtherā.
Addressing the current Greek governmentās record on transport infrastructure, the minister said: āThe airline has been privatised and is working perfectly. The highways have been invested in and are state of the art highways. The subway in Athens has been upgraded, the new subway in Thessaloniki is up and runningā¦ The railway system is one area where we havenāt done enough.ā
Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest over the fatal collision of two trains in northern Greece which many have attributed to years of government under-investment.
Addressing the protestorsā criticism of the government, Mr Mitarachi said: āThere is a very strong feeling of grief. Thatās not a prerogative of specific groups that are in the street. Everyone in Greek society feels enormously sad for what has happened.ā
A 59-year-old station master in Larissa, who was charged with manslaughter by negligence, appeared in court on Sunday and has been taken into custody.
His lawyer Stefanos Pantzartzidis said the station master had admitted to having a share of responsibility in the accident. He faces between 10 years and life in jail if convicted.
