Exploring the Histories and Presents of the Athens and Thessaloniki Railway Line
Exploring the Histories and Presents of the Athens and Thessaloniki Railway Line
16.Oct 2025
Exploring the Histories and Presents of the Athens and Thessaloniki Railway Line
(in light of the Tempi incident)
Spyros Gerousis
This report emerges in the wake of the Tempi railway accident in February 2023, which took the lives of 57 people, while 80 others were injured, with 25 of them seriously. There has been growing public anger surrounding the cause of this crash, as well as the responses by various ‘stakeholders’ in the aftermath. The accident has given rise to an intense debate on the operation of the railway network in Greece, which has brought to light evidence that would otherwise have remained hidden from view. While a large part of Greek media and politicians’ narratives refer to what happened that fateful night in the Tempi Valley as an accident, investigative journalists, legal experts and others are outspoken about it as bearing political responsibilities against the people living in Greece and using the Athens- Thessaloniki railway line. As the legal case is ongoing and n