Staikouras for Tempi: Let’s wait for the Justice to decide – 2024-04-17 15:57:20

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Saikouras, gave an interview to Mega on Monday afternoon (15/4), referring, among other things, to the tragic accident in Tempe. The minister, starting his interview, referred to the two traffic accidents that took place today with buses, one in Liosia and one in the center of Athens.

“There are the vehicles, in which we are proceeding with a brave renewal of the fleet and there is also the individual responsibility. I am aware of both incidents. The first incident does not directly concern the transport organization, OSY, it concerns KTEL, i.e. the contracts that have been made with private individuals. The second incident has to do with something that is being investigated and a tourist bus.”

“In terms of responsibility, individual and collective, it is a matter that all of us, who are involved in the transport project chain, should show even greater responsibility. 39% of the bus fleet in Athens does not have accessibility for the disabled. We have 400 buses in Athens and trolleys, 22 years old, when the European average is 13 years.

“As for the fleet, we have done what we can do. In the coming weeks, 250 new, electric buses will be on the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki. Test routes have already started, we are almost ready, the first ones will start at the end of April. At the same time, we have two contracts for 300 natural gas buses in Athens. We will receive these buses by the end of 2025 at the latest,” said Mr. Staikouras.

According to the minister, the transport organizations in Athens and Thessaloniki serve up to a percentage of the transport project.

“The rest of the work will be carried out by private individuals, as they are doing today. In this way we will try to cover, with a better fleet, the needs of the citizen in terms of MMM. I estimate that by the end of 2025 we will have better quality and more MMMs. The problem is not being addressed because we have the traffic.”

Mr. Staikouras noted at the same time, “this issue is serious throughout Europe. All over Europe, an effort is being made to move the citizen with MMM, in alternative ways, but these are not dealt with from one day to the next”.

He referred to the infrastructure projects which are expected to be completed within 2024 and handed over to the citizens, noting however that: “Indeed, many times, in very large projects there are delays for a number of different reasons”.

For OSE

Referring to the Tempe disaster and the citizens’ dissatisfaction with the government’s handling, he said:

“Let’s wait for the Justice to decide. We must be absolutely transparent in everything that the Court requests. Very recently, officials from the State and the Judiciary went to the premises of the OSE and asked for additional material, which was delivered in its entirety.

“The third thing we have to deal with and it is my personal responsibility, is EDOSSAAM (agency responsible for air and rail incidents), we have found experts, the Committee has been set up, to draw a conclusion as soon as possible. If we do anything else it is as if we are interfering. I think that as far as the Tempe case is concerned, we have to move on the lines set by the prime minister, with absolute trust in the judiciary, but at the same time we have another responsibility. The responsibility is to limit the chances of something similar happening again in the future.”

Asked if the trains are safe, the minister says:

“I travel by train. Since December 16, when the train resumed operation, approximately 160,000 of our compatriots have traveled by train between Athens and Thessaloniki. Last week, when I visited Brussels for the Summit, I met with the European Railways, who told me that your trains in Greece are safer than road axles. However, this does not mean that we should not do even more to continuously strengthen transport safety.

“We do what we can, we have to do more, there are problems, we strive for the best”, he concludes.