Rail service draws complaints

The Railway Regulatory Authority (RAS) has been receiving a growing number of complaints regarding delays and cancellations of services.

RAS had always received some complaints from passengers traveling on popular routes, but they were only occasional against TRAINOSE, the control of which passed to Italy’s Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane in 2017.

Now, however, RAS, which examines the complaints of passengers who have not been satisfied with the services, receives dozens of complaints every day. In 2021 alone, a year when routes and capacity were still limited due to the pandemic, complaints regarding what is now named Hellenic Train exceeded 4,000. A large part regards complaints about compensation, delays and the failure to provide information about these delays.

A commuter who lives in Agioi Theodoroi, near Corinth, and commutes daily by suburban rail (“Proastiakos”) to go to work in northern Athens, tells Kathimerini: “I have been using this train since it first started, in 2005. I don’t remember having the problems I saw from 2020 onward before that.” She adds that several workers who live in the prefecture of Corinthia, as well as vulnerable groups, students, etc, suffer from cancellations and daily delays of services.