Athens Municipality Plans Monument Honoring Victims of Train Crash

A decision has been made by the Athens Municipal Council to move ahead with the creation of a monument for the victims of the February 2023 Tempe train crash.

“More than a year after the tragedy, the Municipality of Athens, with respect for the people who were lost and their relatives, wishes to honor their memory,” said Mayor Haris Doukas. “We commit to the creation of a monument to honor the memory of our fellow human beings.”

Athens Train Crash Victims Monument

The location and the form of the monument for the Tempe train crash victims have yet to be determined. These will be decided by the municipality’s services in consultation with the association of the victims’ relatives. The crash took the lives of 57 people, while many more were left injured.

A memorial service was held last month at the site of the rail tragedy in Tempe to honor the 57 individuals who lost their lives on February 28, 2023. Relatives and friends gathered to pay their respects, leaving flowers at the scene as they called for justice.

“Justice will come as soon as those responsible are sent to prison,” the father of Panos Routsi, who lost his life in the train accident said. He blamed the authorities for covering up the evidence following the train collision.

The investigation is ongoing amidst bitterness and suspicion on the part of the families affected. The tears of those who lost their loved ones have dried, but the anger remains, still palpable. It has been a year, and not one official has taken responsibility for the accident. Not one apology has been uttered by official lips, whether it was from the State or Hellenic Train.

Churches across the country rang their bells 57 times on the memorial day to symbolize the number of lives lost. Many of the victims were young students returning home after a long weekend.

This gesture was made in response to a request from Maria Karystianou, representing the families of the victims, to the Holy Archdiocese of Athens and the Holy Metropolises of the Church of Greece.

Additionally, a monument dedicated to the memory of the train crash victims was unveiled in the city of Larissa about 215 miles (approximately 345 km) from Athens. Meanwhile, in the Parliament in Athens, lawmakers observed a moment of silence in honor of the victims.

Outside, protesters, including rail and hospital workers, seafarers, and school teachers, joined a 24-hour walkout organized by the country’s largest public-sector union, ADEDY, to commemorate the anniversary of the train crash.

Railway workers demanded those responsible for the accident be brought to justice. “Railway workers are the only ones who are not to blame for all that happened as they have been calling for the improvement in safety for years because they saw what was coming,” a statement by the Railway Workers Union said at the time.