Thousands take part in new Greece protest over train crash
The Hindu
Thousands of people have protested against safety deficiencies in Greece’s railway network nearly two weeks after dozens were killed in the country’s deadliest train crash
Thousands of people protested on March 12 against safety deficiencies in Greece’s railway network nearly two weeks after dozens were killed in the country's deadliest train crash.
The demonstrators also demanded punishment for those responsible for the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train that killed 57 people on February 28. Police said that more than 8,000 people in Athens gathered outside Parliament to protest on Sunday.
The protesters later marched to the offices of privatised train operator Hellenic Train. The company, which has been owned by Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane since 2017, isn't responsible for the maintenance of the railway network. State-owned Hellenic Railways is in charge of upkeep.
Authorities shut down four subway stations on two lines running through central Athens because of the protest.
The rally was organised by civil servants, a pro-communist union and university students.
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In Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, about 5,000 people demonstrated, listened to speeches and shouted slogans, such as “we will be the voice for all the dead.”