Striking taxi drivers in Athens demand responsibility for train derailment

Taxi drivers in the Greek capital began a 24-hour strike this Thursday demanding responsibility for the Feb. 28 train tragedy that killed 57 people.

Taxi service in Athens is practically stopped, and drivers line up a convoy of official cars passing through the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

The Athens Taxi Drivers’ Union (SATA) is demanding in a statement to determine the responsibility for the train accident and to immediately stop what they call “marketing” of social transport services.

Sector workers are also asking the government to take additional measures, such as abolishing a special tax on fuel.

Greece has seen constant protests and demonstrations since the accident that killed 57 people, mostly students, who were victims of a head-on collision between two trains.

The protests are demanding justice and accountability from the conservative government for failing to guarantee rail safety.

In the early days, Conservative Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis dismissed this as a “human error” but soon admitted that the area where the accident occurred was not equipped with security systems.

The Italian state company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane operates the Greek Helenic Train, although the country’s infrastructure depends on the state company.

This week, the head of government announced that legislative elections scheduled for July would be postponed to May.