Tens of thousands of people marched in Greece on Wednesday to protest over the country\u2019s deadliest train disaster on record, as workers staged a nationwide, day-long walkout.
\nThe crash on Feb 28 killed 57 people and has stirred public outrage over the crumbling state of the rail network. Striking workers say years of neglect, underinvestment and understaffing \u2014 a legacy of Greece\u2019s decade-long debt crisis \u2014 are to blame.
\nMore than 40,000 people, among them transport workers, students and teachers, marched in central Athens chanting \u201cMurderers!\u201d and \u201cWe are all in the same carriage\u201d.
\nA group of protesters clashed with police, who fired tear gas at the crowd.
\nThousands also took to the streets in Greece\u2019s second-biggest city of Thessaloniki, where a group of protesters hurled stones at a government building.
\nThe protests coincided with a 24-hour strike called by workers of different sectors, which disrupted travel across the country.
\nMany of the around 350 people aboard an intercity passenger train that collided head-on with a freight train while travelling on the same track were university students heading north to Thessaloniki from Athens.
\nThe disaster has sparked protests across Greece over the past week.
\n\u201cMessage me when you get there,\u201d a placard in Athens read, echoing what has become one of the protest slogans.
\n\u201cYou feel angry because the government did nothing for all of those kids. The public transport is a mess,\u201d said 19-year-old Nikomathi Vathi.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to be here until things change,\u201d said another student, Vaggelis Somarakis. \u201cWe are the youth of this country and we\u2019re not going to stop.\u201d
\nThe conservative government, was initially planning to call elections in the coming weeks, promised on Wednesday to fix the ailing railway system.
\nTransport Minister George Gerapetritis told a news conference he understood the anger the accident had caused.
\n\u201cNo train will set off again, if we have not secured safety at the maximum possible level,\u201d he said, apologising for Greece\u2019s deadliest rail crash on record.
\n\u2018No time for silence\u2019
\nRail workers have staged rolling, 24-hour strikes since Thursday, bringing the network to a halt. On Wednesday, the government also suspended the service while it reviews safety.
\nThe workers say their demands for improvement in safety protocols have gone unheard for years and have promised to \u201cimpose safety\u201d to ensure that a crash will not be repeated.
\n\u201cWe have an obligation towards our fellow humans and our colleagues who were lost in the tragic accident,\u201d the main railway workers\u2019 union said.
\nGreece\u2019s largest public sector union ADEDY participated in the 24-hour strike.
\nCity transport workers walked off the job in solidarity, disrupting metro, tram and bus services in the capital. Ships also remained docked at ports as seamen participated in the labour action.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not the time to fall silent,\u201d a teachers\u2019 union said in a statement.
\nThe government, whose term expires in July, has blamed the crash mainly on human error and deficiencies it says have not been fixed over the past decades.
\nPrime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has handed the portfolio to Gerapetritis, one of his closest allies. Gerapetritis said rail passenger services may resume by the end of March if safety is secured.
\nHe said funds would be invested in upgrading infrastructure and hiring staff, and also promised to shed light to the causes of the crash.
\nGerapetritis was due to meet transport experts from the European Commission, which has said it will offer technical support, later on Wednesday.
\nGreece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, to Italy\u2019s state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 during its debt crisis.
\nThe sale was a term in the country\u2019s bailout agreements with the European Union and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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