ATHENS – Minister of State for Transport-Infrastructure, Giorgos Gerapetritis, in a press conference on Wednesday, expressed his sorrow for the “unprecedented national tragedy that has left its mark on us all”.

“Suffering must be followed by catharsis,” he underlined.

The responsibility that belongs to the government has been assumed, Gerapetritis said and added: “I must again apologise on behalf of the government and myself, personally, to the families of the victims, to all Greek citizens, for not being able to prevent this tragic accident. The apology is completely sincere, not feigned, and does not attempt to deflect any real responsibility.”

The Minister of State made it clear from the beginning that the government has no intention of interfering in either the judicial investigation, on the one hand, nor in the administrative investigation being conducted by a group of experts, on the other hand. As he added, this is no time for confrontation.

He pointed out that, regardless of any human errors, if there had been a complete rail telemanagement system in the country, the accident would not have happened. In this way, Gerapetritis referred to the issue of completing the works connected with the operation of the railway. He also thanked all those involved in handling the consequences of the tragedy from the first moment.

Gerapetritis stated that the budget for the Greek railway is increasing. As he noted, before the accident in Tempi, the amount of 185 million euros was included in the Greek programme of the Recovery Fund for upgrading infrastructure.

Gerapetritis praised the efforts of the railway workers, who are willing to do everything in their power to upgrade safety measures. He also said that a stricter framework will be introduced for vandalism and thefts involving the railway network.