Will the lesson from the rail crash be learned?

After the rail tragedy at Tempe, and with citizens shocked to discover new details about the incident, the journalistic investigation and public debate initially focused on the criminal responsibilities of an inexperienced stationmaster and the never-ending projects for the modernization of the railway network.

But as the investigations progress and those who know first-hand what is happening inside the state-run Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) are starting to speak up, the public is surprised to learn about stationmasters who choose their posts depending on the additional fees they will collect; about shift schedules that are issued depending on who will be off on long weekends; and shift schedules that are sent to the OSE headquarters in Athens to be approved but are never checked.

We hear of administrations that were installed as political favors to failed parliamentary candidates, or others who had the political access to take the job

The public also hears about stationmasters who leave their posts one or two hours early, often without notifying anyone and without a serious reason; or stationmasters who work on temporary contracts; or controversial procedures used for the certification and training of stationmasters, or electronic systems that may not work. We also heard of gangs that steal and sell cables and metal components from the tracks, company contracts aimed at improving the railway network that are left in someone’s drawer and are not implemented for various reasons ranging from objections to court appeals, and other additional contracts that are signed, which are also soon forgotten.

We hear of company administrations that do not really check what is happening and seem to allow unionists a big say in the management of those companies. We hear of administrations that were installed as political favors to failed parliamentary candidates, or others who had the political access to take the job. Then, we discovered the self-evident and great responsibilities of politicians who have been in power in recent years – at least since the debt crisis, when the need for changes in the operation of the public sector and state-run enterprises became urgent.

Since the day of the unspeakable tragedy at Tempe we have learned a lot that we did not know or did not want to know. But the question is this: Will we learn after this tragedy? Will it become a lesson? Will politicians change what contributed to this tragic crash? Or will the promise of change dissipate along with public anger? This is what the government will be dealing with from now on, and only time will tell if it succeeds.