ATHENS – Three workers in a maintenance crew of the Athens’ electric railway (HSAP) were injured in a train collision early on Tuesday and one later died in hospital.

The workers were injured after the brakes of the rail grinder they were operating failed and it went careering down the track until it collided with an empty train that had been parked at Agios Nikolaos station to act as a buffer.

The operation of metro line 1 from Kifissia to Piraeus has been disrupted due to the accident.

Urban Rail Transport (STASY) expressed its sorrow for the loss of the employee while an investigation has been launched into the exact causes of the accident.

Trains on metro line 1 are running from Omonia to Piraeus and from Ano Patissia station to Kifissia.

Passengers needing to travel from Ano Patissia to Omonia or vice versa can use the bus lines A8 and X7 (emergency service) and trolley buses 3, 5 and 7. The buses can be caught at Alisida bus station outside the Ano Patissia metro station. On Acharnes Street, passengers are served by the bus B9 and the trolley bus 6.