Two years after a devastating train crash in northern Greece, a general strike and hundreds of planned demonstrations are bringing the nation to standstill to mark the anniversary of a tragedy that has become a symbol of institutional failure. The mass mobilization, led by relatives of the 57 people killed, has been fueled by public resentment against the conservative government’s perceived inaction. Critics of the government say that politicians should be held accountable for failures that led up to the crash, but so far only rail officials have charged with any crimes.
The Feb. 28, 2023, disaster in Tempe – where a passenger train collided head-on with an oncoming freight train – was Greece’s worst railway accident. The fiery crash also left dozens injured and exposed deficiencies in the country’s transportation infrastructure.
“The full truth must come to light, and those responsible, no matter how high their position, must be held accountable,” said Yannis Panagopoulos, president of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, the country’s largest labor union, which has backed Friday’s strike.
“Let us all take to the streets, expressing the outrage and demands of the overwhelming majority of the Greek people,” he said. Flights and rail services have been canceled, ferries halted and public transportation across the country has been severely disrupted. Private businesses and public services have also been affected, with many stores in Athens closed, leaving messages of solidarity for the victims’ families in front windows.
Demonstrations are planned in more than 300 cities and towns in Greece and abroad, with the parliament building in central Athens poised as the focal point. More than 5,000 police officers are being deployed in the capital to manage crowds and potential unrest.
Memorial services will be held at Orthodox churches across the capital for the victims, who included many university students returning from a long weekend. The victims' families have urged protesters to keep the focus on remembrance rather than politics.
“This day is one of remembrance, respect and reflection,” an association representing the families said in a statement. “It is dedicated to those who were unjustly lost, to the grieving families, and to the pursuit of justice that remains unresolved.”.
Yet the protests have created a politically precarious moment for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government. His ruling conservatives maintain a strong lead in the polls, but public dissatisfaction over the Tempe disaster has led to surging support for anti-establishment parties on both the left and right. Opposition leaders, who are struggling to gain traction, are weighing whether to put forward a censure motion.
Mountainous Greece is largely road reliant and the nation’s railway system is centered around a single route between Athens and the second largest city, Thessaloniki, a fact that made the collision harder for many to understand. A long-awaited report on the investigation into the Tempe crash, released Thursday, blamed human error, outdated infrastructure and major systemic failures for the head-on collision.
The aftermath of the crash was marked by scenes of chaos, with surviving passengers describing tumbling carriages, fires and smashed windows as they scrambled to escape. It was followed by the gruesome task of victim recovery and identification as many bodies were severely burned or dismembered. Funerals were held across numerous communities throughout Greece, many streamed or broadcast live, turning private grief into a shared national experience.
Hours after the collision, Maria Karystianou rushed to the scene of the tragedy to search for her missing daughter, 21-year-old Maria-Thomai, as the train cars still smoldered. After a frantic search for her daughter’s name on lists of the injured, her death was confirmed with a DNA match after a two-day wait.
The 52-year-old pediatrician has since become a leading figure in the campaign to hold politicians to account for the crash and this week publicly thanked unions and associations that joined the protests, including doctors at public hospitals, and lawyers and judges who will hold a minute’s silence in courts Friday.
