In a statement, Andreas Panagiotopoulos said that while the state continues to pay €50m annually, it effectively demands nothing in return from Hellenic Train. According to SYRIZA, the company is exempted from binding commitments, given the option to increase ticket prices, and not required to guarantee adequate routes, meaningful investments or, above all, reliable and safe services.

He noted that in 2022 the government relieved Hellenic Train of investment obligations amounting to at least €630m, based on the 2019 forecasts. Today, he added, the government presents a new investment forecast of €430m, which is neither binding nor accompanied by any guarantee as to when, or even if, these investments will be implemented.

As a characteristic example, SYRIZA points to the Diakopto–Kalavryta cog railway, known as the Odontotos, which is entirely absent from the amended contract. There is no reference to its operation, maintenance or routes, despite it being a historic and unique railway that supports mountainous Achaia and local tourism. According to the statement, its routes have already been reduced to the point of obsolescence.

The same uncertainty applies to the Patras railway connection. The contract, SYRIZA notes, stops at Rio, with no commitment to extend the line to the city centre or to connect it with the new port. At the same time, the Patras suburban railway continues to operate without a clear framework of obligations, leaving its routes and future entirely unclear.

Nearly three years after the Tempe train disaster, SYRIZA concludes, the Greek railway system remains marked by opacity, a lack of effective oversight and insufficient protection of the public interest. The amended contract, it argues, not only fails to address these problems but actively entrenches them.

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