“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell
This Friday marks the second anniversary of the Tempi train crash, the deadliest rail disaster in Greece’s history. On February 28, 2023, a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train resulted in the deaths of 57 people in the Tempi Valley, approximately 27 km from Larissa.
Many have referred to this tragedy as the “Tempi crime,” perceiving it as a direct consequence of the authorities negligence and the country’s systemic corruption. Two years later, as the trial has still not begun and revelations continue to emerge, Greeks are still demanding truth and justice.
Timeline of events
Before the accident
- 2000-2023: Greek railway infrastructure has suffered from chronic underfunding and a lack of modernization, despite significant European subsidies. Automated signaling systems have been out of order since the 2000s. Repeated warnings from railway unions about the dangers of the network have gone unheeded.
- 2017: The management of passenger trains is privatized and entrusted to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Hellenic Train), while the Greek state retains control over the infrastructure.
- February 20, 2023: In Parliament, when questioned about the state of the infrastructure, Transport Minister Kostas A. Karamanlís states: “It’s a shame, and I’m ashamed that you raise security issues and I would like to retract it immediately.”
February 28, 2023: Day of the accident
- A passenger train carrying 350 people — including many young individuals returning from an extended weekend — departs from Athens for Thessaloniki. Simultaneously, a freight train leaves Thessaloniki bound for Larissa.
- 11:20 PM: After 12 minutes on the same track, the two trains collide at high speed in the Tempi Valley. The first two carriages are completely destroyed, and an explosion with a 80 meter diameter ignites fires in the initial carriages.
Immediately after the accident
- March 1, 2023: The death toll is reported at 57, with dozens injured. The Transport Minister resigns.
- March 4, 2023: The wrecked carriages are urgently removed, the area is cleaned, and covered in cement, hindering any thorough investigation.
Judicial outcomes and investigations
- March 6, 2023: An investigation is opened. The station master of Larissa, Vassilis Samaras, is charged with negligent homicide for directing both trains onto the same track.
- May 2023: Despite being suspected of involvement in the network’s failures, Kostas A. Karamanlís is re-elected to Parliament.
- June 2023: The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) calls for the Greek government to prosecute Karamanlís and his predecessor Christos Spirtzis for mismanagement of European funds, but no action is taken.
- June 26, 2023: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is re-elected.
- Today: The trial still has not begun.
Causes of the accident and areas of ambiguity
Human and systemic failures
The Greek government attributes the disaster to human error, but this version is heavily contested. Public opinion sees it as an institutional crime and accuses the government of negligence, having been warned multiple times about the risks involved. The absence of automated signaling systems, which were financed by the EU, could have prevented the accident. Moreover, railway workers, suffering from chronic understaffing since the economic crisis, sometimes worked up to 29 consecutive days.
Suspect explosion
Authorities long maintained that the freight train only carried containers and steel sheets. However, an independent expertise commissioned by a victims association revealed the illegal presence of xylene, toluene, propane, and butane. According to these experts, it was these 10 tons of highly flammable substances that caused the explosion. Nearly half of the victims reportedly did not die from the collision, but from the flames caused by the explosion.
On January 26, 2025, massive protests took place throughout Greece demanding justice. These protests were sparked by the release of recordings of passengers calls from the train, one of which contains the phrase “I don’t have oxygen,” which has become a slogan for the movement (ΔΕΝ ΕΧΩ ΟΞΥΓΟΝΟ).
“ΔΕΝ ΕΧΩ ΟΞΥΓΟΝΟ”
Suppression of evidence
Public distrust is exacerbated by failures in the investigation, and the government is accused of deliberately concealing important information.
Just days after the accident, the accident scene was completely cleaned and cemented, preventing the completion of the forensic investigation, violating article 251 of the code of criminal procedure. The expert reports are incomplete, and the government refuses assistance from EU experts for the investigation. In January 2025, Vassilis Lampropoulos, police editor for NEON and VIMATOS, stated on MEGA TV that police officers were pressured by government officials to allow the burial of the accident site. Christos Triantopoulos, deputy to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the time of the crash and responsible for coordinating the operation, denies giving such an order. However, on February 6, 2025, he announced his resignation from his position as Deputy Minister of Civil Protection following the opposition’s proposal to establish a parliamentary inquiry into his handling of the accident.
On March 24, 2024, the media outlet To Vima revealed the tampering of an audio recording between the conductor and the station master at Tempi, published for the first time the day after the accident.
Additionally, surveillance videos that could have revealed the contents of the freight train were deleted.
Public trust in the investigation, which began two years earlier, is eroding as outrage grows over perceived mismanagement. On February 13, 2025, the families of the victims filed a complaint for mishandling key evidence after learning that 640,000 audio and video files seized and submitted to special investigator Sotiris Bakaimis are not included in the case file. Simultaneously, videos recovered by an Athens lawyer from the security company have resurfaced, even though they were allegedly in the investigator’s possession from the start. These videos are said to be surveillance recordings of the freight train before the accident and are currently under investigation to verify their authenticity.
Media manipulation:
The media, particularly those linked to the government, are accused of having subtly downplayed the issue and continually promoted the human error hypothesis. They are also criticized for relegating the case to the background barely a month after the accident, as elections approached.
Greek demands: political and social consequences
For a large part of the population, this tragedy embodies the consequences of a broader neglect of public services and corruption, exacerbated by years of financial crisis and successive government policies. Even today, as the trial has still not begun, protests are frequent and now encompass broader demands regarding the state of the country.
Justice and ending political impunity:
The primary demand is for justice and the recognition of the Tempi accident as an institutional crime.
They demand the resignation of the Prime Minister and the lifting of immunity for those responsible so that they can be tried. Indeed, while the two former transport ministers are being investigated by the EPPO, Greek law requires parliamentary approval to prosecute ministers. However, the absolute majority of Karamanlís’s party, New Democracy, blocks the establishment of an investigative committee, thereby preventing any judicial action. Similarly, in December 2023, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office charged 23 individuals, including 18 officials, with offenses related to the execution of signaling contracts, but the government refuses to file a complaint.
With this alleged complicity of the state and media, a petition gathering 1.3 million signatures was submitted to the European Union, demanding an independent investigation and accountability for political leaders.
Modernization of infrastructure:
Today, modernization and automation of signaling systems have still not been completed. And while rail traffic resumed only three weeks after the accident, the public demands real investment in rail safety, as well as in all public infrastructure.
Freedom of the press:
The public also denounces government propaganda through the media, corruption, and attempts to suppress crucial information, demanding total freedom of the press.
Reflection of the current situation in Greece
The Larissa train accident and its repercussions offer a broader reflection of the political and social challenges Greece has faced for years. It has become a symbol of the state’s denial and negligence regarding systemic risks, particularly in public management. Indeed, the 2009-2018 crisis and austerity measures have severely affected public sectors, prioritizing budget constraints over safety and service quality. For many Greeks, this illustrates a disconnect between political accountability and the daily reality of citizens, where the state is seen as incapable of ensuring safe basic services.
Corruption and clientelism
The accident also highlights decades of mismanagement and systemic corruption. The ties between politicians, businesses, and media erode citizens trust in the state, and Greek citizens feel profound frustration over the impunity of elites. For the public, laws seem to protect political leaders more than citizens.
And while the government promises to accelerate modernization efforts, citizens remain skeptical about the actual implementation of changes.
The Tempi accident is not just a railway tragedy, but a symptom of a state weakened by corruption, denial, and the erosion of public trust. Tomorrow, protests will take place across Greece on the second anniversary of this tragedy, which has acted as a catalyst for a society demanding justice, transparency, and deep reforms to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
