The case file sent to Parliament by the Larissa investigator for Possible criminal responsibilities of the former Transport Ministers Kostas Karamanlis and Christos Spirtzibased on two critical apologies of the Ministry of Transport executives completed in early April.
The first apology It belongs to the Deputy Head of the Directorate -General for Transport. According to him:
“When I took on duties, my first concern was to find out about the responsibilities of the Directorate -General for Transport and in particular the Rail Transport Directorate. I found that the Directorate exerted administrative supervision on OSE and the Railway Regulatory Authority (RAS), without any competence on security issues. This responsibility has belonged and continues to belong exclusively to Ras, which is accountable only to parliament. “
The defendant described in detail the responsibilities of his address, stressing:
“As far as the situation in the Greek rail network is concerned, ERTMS security systems were solely responsible for the Ministry’s General Secretariat of Infrastructure. We had no possibility of intervening in ERGOSE or the General Secretariat of Infrastructure to accelerate the projects. “
In Parliament the Tempe file: Karamanlis and Spirtz investigating responsibility for responsibility
He also underlined:
“I had no duties related to ensuring safety on the railways. This was the sole responsibility of Ras. During my term until the accident, RAS did not send us any relevant documents and no meeting was held with its president or other executives. “
Asked by the investigator whether there was cooperation with OSE on security issues, the defendant replied:
“OSE has complete autonomy in making decisions on rail traffic safety.”
When asked if the Secretary -General of Transport was requesting information on security, he replied:
“The Directorate -General for such issues was never requested. Ras is and remains exclusively responsible for the safety of rail transport. “
The Apology of the Head of Rail Transport Directorate
In early April, the Head of the Rail Transport Directorate, which presented documents and letters in the interrogation. Two of them concerned funding and lack of staff, and were sent to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport in September 2021, to the Deputy Minister and the Secretary General of the Ministry.
The boss said:
“In September 2021, during the draft contract between the Ministry and the OSE for the funding of OSE, my address drafted two information notes to political leadership, pointing out problems in funding and reduced staff. We also emphasized the potential dangers that could arise. However, none of the notes have any reaction from political leadership. “