Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has outlined a series of initiatives aimed at "drastically improving the safety and quality of Greece’s railways," speaking during a Cabinet meeting. At the same time, he effectively acknowledged that, even now, key safety systems are still not fully in place.

He stressed that the project would be carried out under a “tight” timeline of 15 months. By the end of this period, he said, the entire main national railway line would not only have full remote control and signalling systems but also automatic braking. The ETCS system – which automatically slows or stops trains when movement rules are violated – has already been successfully tested. Mitsotakis said it would be installed on every train running on the country’s central line by September this year.

“This isn’t a process that’s starting now,” he said, “but it is a process that is being accelerated.” He also noted that contracts were being signed that very day at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport for the repair of infrastructure in Thessaly, which had been severely damaged by storm ‘Daniel’ shortly after the completion of Contract 717 in September 2023.

Alongside these upgrades, Mitsotakis announced another major initiative: the introduction of a new system for real-time, highly accurate geolocation of trains. Unlike standard GPS, which can have a margin of error of up to 15 metres, the new Integrated Monitoring Centre will track trains with centimetre-level accuracy. This will allow any potential problems to be identified immediately, whether on single or double-track lines.

In addition, the PM said that soon the new platform, named railway.gov.gr, would be made publicly accessible. Through this platform, citizens will be able to check in real-time the punctuality and reliability of train services.

“In other words,” he said, “we are taking several combined steps, all aimed at restoring passengers’ confidence in Greece’s railways.”

Mitsotakis also repeated a promise he had made previously – that Hellenic Train, the country’s private train operator, would soon be expected to make its own investments, particularly through the purchase of new rolling stock. This echoes commitments he made in March 2023, following the tragic Tempe train crash, when he criticised the company for operating “wrecks” on the tracks.

He further spoke of a “DEI model” – a reference to the transformation of Greece’s public electricity company – highlighting the need for greater flexibility in recruitment and salaries, and the ability to bring in executives from the international market.

“That’s why the measures we are discussing today are bold,” he said, “within a much stricter framework, allowing for more flexible hiring practices and better compensation, and a more effective management team that can also recruit talent internationally. To put it simply, our goal is for the railway company to undergo a transformation similar to that of DEI, which we took over in 2019 when it was practically bankrupt, and which today is a healthy, dynamic, and expanding company – a leader not only in Greece but across Southeast Europe.”

Mitsotakis concluded by saying that the railways represent “a battleground with a troubled past – a past we are determined to leave behind – proving to citizens that we have the strength to turn the page on a chapter that caused deep wounds to Greek society.”

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