ATHENS – Public transportation in Athens will come to a partial halt on Thursday, March 16, as a 24-hour nationwide strike has been called by the public sector workers union federation ADEDY and the private sector General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE).

Greece’s private and public sector unions are demanding that liabilities be assigned to those responsible for the fatal Tempi train collision on February 28, and they also demand safety in the country’s transportation overall.

Athens metro & tram

Metro lines 1 (ISAP), 2 (red line) and 3 (blue line) and tram trains will only run from 10:00 until 15:00, to facilitate the transportation of people attending rallies in central Athens.

Athens buses

Buses will hold work stoppages from the start of the shift until 09:00 and from 21:00 until the end of the shift, the OASA staff union announced on Tuesday. They will run normally between 09:00 and 21:00, leaving their depots at 8:30 in the morning.

The bus routes operated by KTEL intercity coaches will run as normal.

Rail workers

Panhellenic Federation of Railway Workers will also participate in the strike, they said, although national railway services have been paused since March 1, following the Tempi rail accident.

Thessaloniki transport

Only 50 buses, operated by skeleton staff, will run in Thessaloniki on Thursday, while the Airport (N1) night line and the special service for the disabled will operate as normal, said the Urban Transport Organisation of Thessaloniki (OASTH).