Rail disaster commission member withdraws after criticism over past job

Thanassis Ziliaskopoulos, a professor of production and transportation at the University of Thessaly, has withdrawn from the newly established, three-member rail disaster committee tasked with finding what led to the deadly train collision last Tuesday, after opposition parties noted that his previous job as CEO of TrainOSE (currently Hellenic Train) raised questions of impartiality.

“Due to the special weight of the work of the committee for the whole of Greek society, I would not like my past job to be used as an alibi to damage the integrity and impartiality of the committee’s work and conclusions,” he said in a statement issued Saturday. 

“For this reason, I will not take up my duties in the committee and I remain at the disposal of the state, as far as I can be useful because of my specialty,” he added.

During his tenure as CEO of TrainOSE in the period 2010-2015, the staff of the Greek railways was dramatically reduced due to the pressures imposed by the country’s bailout, which led to a reduction in the level of services provided. He currently chairs the Board of Directors at Greece’s privatisation agency HRADF.