Former OSE deputy chief testifies in Tempe inquiry

Former Hellenic Railway Organisation (OSE) deputy managing director Thanasis Kottaras testified that the transfer of the station master on duty at the time of the accident was “legal and legitimate” on Thursday.

Speaking before a parliamentary inquiry committee on the deadly February 2023 Tempe head-on collision, the former OSE deputy chief testified that the 48-year-old station master’s “age limit was arbitrary. I don’t think that [his transfer] could be described as a favor,” and that one station master was 57 when he got the job several years ago.

Kottaras stated that he received deductions by OSE and public law professors in 2023 concluding that the stationmaster’s transfer was “legal in all respects. Furthermore, had the [transport] committee taken age into account, it would have committed a legal irregularity, as the age limit was arbitrary.”

Asked on whether remote control systems would be more likely to prevent the accident, Kottaras said that all systems are operated by people, but that the more systems are in place, the safer the system becomes.

Kottaras also accused the stationmaster and train engineers of making multiple mistakes and not adhering to transit regulations.