Mystery shrouds train network sabotage
The latest sabotage incident on the network of the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), which occurred Monday night, remains shrouded in ambiguity.
This was not the usual theft of copper from electrification cables because the primary goal of the perpetrator/s was to disrupt the network’s power and telecommand systems, which had been delivered for use three weeks before.
The management of OSE has filed a complaint with the Menidi Police Department, while it intends to file a complaint with the Athens prosecutor.
The incident took place shortly after 7 p.m. Monday at an OSE facility 1.5 km away from the Acharnes station. The perpetrator/s used a sledgehammer to break a manhole cover and poured flammable liquid inside. They then set fire to it, which destroyed the fiber-optic cables carrying the signal to the telecommunications center at the Acharnes Railway Center (SKA) station. This put the central telecommunications system controlling the section from SKA station to Tithorea, some 156 km northwest of Athens, out of operation.
Investigators concluded the perpetrator/s had taken care to destroy the security camera operating at the site, ensuring their faces would not be recorded.
The extent of the damage, and the time required to repair the damage caused by the fire, had not been estimated with precise precision by late Tuesday.
The motive of the perpetrators remains unclear, with OSE CEO Takis Terezakis describing it as a “classic case of sabotage.” Responsibility for investigating the case remains for the time being with the local Menidi police.
Incidents of sabotage and arson attempts were also recorded at the suburban train station in Metamorfosi a few months ago. Security cameras had recorded people with backpacks jumping the protective wall separating the highway from the railway line and trying to set fire to it.
The National Intelligence Service (EYP) was also involved in the investigation. However, the motives and identities of the culprits remain unknown.
