ETCS

Prompted by the public debate surrounding the safety issues of the Greek railway, the CEO of Hellenic Railways, Christos Palios, stated:

"In order to set the record straight, I want to be absolutely clear:

As the Government and the Management of our company have committed, at the end of August 2026 the main Athens-Thessaloniki railway axis will have 100% remote control (traffic control), 100% signalling and 100% ETCS installed.

This was also confirmed during our on-site inspection yesterday of the works in Thessaly and in the area struck by Daniel, which are moving towards completion at a rapid pace and within the 15-month timetable that was set from the outset, with no extension having been granted.

ETCS, that is to say the automatic braking system, has already been installed along the greater part of the axis and will have been completed by the end of August. The installation of ETCS must be distinguished from its full operational deployment, and it will be placed in operation once the necessary certification and licensing procedures have been completed.

At the same time, an additional safeguard against human error has been put into operation, railway.gov.gr, which runs at the Control Centre on a 24-hour basis, automatically detecting risks in the movement of trains.

Nor should we forget that traffic on the Athens-Thessaloniki axis is already today conducted with active signalling and remote control, with the exception of the Lianokladi-Larissa section, owing to the works being carried out to repair the damage caused by Daniel.

Hellenic Railways works to a specific plan and a strict timetable. Because for Hellenic Railways, safety is a daily operational obligation and an absolute priority."