The general strike in Greece on Friday disrupted trains and ferries, on-site flights and public services as thousands of workers left work on the second anniversary of Greece's worst railway disaster.
The 24-hour strike, called by two major trade unions in Greece, is the latest in a series of public protests that dragged into a judicial investigation into a crash that had killed 57 people. There is still rage in the country that the government has not scrutinized any politicians over the loss of their lives.
This is something you need to know about the enduring rage over strikes and accidents.
What does strike involve?
The strike includes public and private workers.
The rally took place in Athens and Greece, with protesters hoping to punish those responsible for the clashes and improve the safety of the railway.
All commercial flights to and from the Greek airport were grounded, and no ferries or trains were run. Limited public transport was operated in Athens to allow demonstrators to reach the gathering. Taxi drivers took part in the strike, but some volunteers were offering free rides to protesters to the rally.
Schools and hospitals were also affected as teachers and healthcare workers took part in the action. Lawyers and ambulance workers also went out, but many shops closed. Several popular artists have cancelled planned shows.
What happened in the train accident?
On the night of February 28, 2023, passenger and freight trains collided head-on on the route connecting Athens with the ports in northern Thessaloniki. Many of the 57 people who died in the crash were young students who returned from the holiday weekend.
At the time, Greek authorities denounced the human error, saying that a mistake in routing by the station master placed the passenger train on the same truck as the approaching freight train. However, they also acknowledged the lack of Greek railway infrastructure and delayed installation of modern safety systems that could avoid disasters.
The fatal episode sparked days of protest as people demand accountability and greater railway safety.
Two years later, questions remain about the exact situation of the crash.
A report by independent railway and air investigative agencies, established after the tragedy, whose results were published on Thursday, found that delays in the installation of electronic signals and remote surveillance systems played a key role in the collisions, and that chronic staffing and funding shortages that took place during Greece's decisive financial crisis played a key role.
The report also criticized Greek authorities for the flawed mapping of the crash site. He said this led to the loss of “potentially important information.”
Investigators added that “huge fireballs” from the crash that killed five or seven casualties could have been caught up in “a previously unknown fuel.” They called for further investigation into it.
Polls conducted over the last few weeks showed that most people in the country were unhappy with the government's handling of disasters.
Many also suspect that they are hiding who is responsible. It is accused by the opposition of denials by the government and exploiting public sensibility for political gain.
How did the authorities respond?
Greece has made some progress in improving the safety of the railway since the crash. Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Stikouras told Greek television on Thursday that modern signalling and remote monitoring systems were added along the entire Thessaloniki route from Athens after the accident, and work was finished by September 2023.
However, later that month the cyclone damaged the system and is not fully functional in the “critical part” of its route. He said the damage would be repaired by the summer of 2026 and Greece was working on a plan agreed with the European Commission to improve training for railway workers.
However, the Commission said in December that it continued shortcomings, including failing to comply with the European Union's railway safety directive from 2016. “The drawbacks are systematic and stem from the lack of a safety culture within the organizations involved,” he said.
Officials say the judicial investigation continues on who could be held responsible for the crash. The dozens of people being investigated so far are mostly railway staff.
The maximum burden has been reduced to one person. Currently 61 station masters are accused of mistaken routing in which passenger trains are placed on the same line as freight trains.
He faces accusations of being at risk of safety in transport and multiple counts of negligent homicide and bodily harm. But many in the country felt he was receiving the landscape for the systemic failures that should have been blamed on the tragedy.
