photo: EPA-EFE/Greece's Tragic Collision: The Unresolved Rail Safety Crisis and the Struggle for Independence in Investigations
At the end of February, Greece was hit by a tragic train crash that left 57 people dead. According to the European Railway Agency, back in 2019, a compliance check was carried out, according to which it was found that Greece had not sufficiently transformed the 2016 European Railway Safety Directive (EU) 2016/798, which requires each EU member state to set up an independent body to investigate railway accidents.
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The train collision in Greece shook the entire country and unleashed a wave of protests and rail strikes. It exposed not only the shortcomings of outdated railway systems but also the absence of an independent authority to investigate railway accidents. The Greek opposition, the left-wing Syriza party was the first to point out the problem. The European Commission has said that it has been registering the problem since 2019 but has not taken any action to draw the consequences. The conservative ruling New Democracy party has set up a temporary special committee, made up of representatives selected by the government, to investigate the accident. However, the opposition has questioned the impartiality of this committee.
The existence of an independent body to investigate railway accidents was also questioned by the Ministry of Transport, which stated that the Ministry itself was the investigating body for accidents and incidents on railways, special and cableways.
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According to Article 22 of the Directive, Member States shall ensure that accidents and incidents are investigated by a permanent body whose members include at least one investigator competent to act as an authorised investigator in the event of an accident or incident. The Directive further states that this body shall be independent in the organisation, legal structure and decision-making from infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, charging bodies, allocation bodies and conformity assessment bodies, as well as from any party whose interests might conflict with the tasks of the investigating body.
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