Greek railway inspector detained in connection with fatal February crash

Dimitris Nikolaou, 63, was the chief inspector at the station on duty the night of the tragedy. Nikolaou was charged with “disturbance of traffic safety”, which caused the death of several people, and “manslaughter by negligence”, according to the same source.

The inspector is the second employee of Greece’s railway system placed in pre-trial detention over the accident and faces a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison.

The other detained is Vassilis Samaras, 57, who was the station manager in the city of Larissa, near the site of the fatal collision between a passenger train and a freight train on 28 February.

Two other station directors who were on duty during the night of the tragedy were accused of abandoning their jobs before the end of their shift and leaving their less experienced colleague alone.

But the two were released earlier this week after posting bail of 10,000 euros and must report to the police twice a month.

The train accident, the most serious in Greek history, also highlighted the chronic failures in the country’s rail network and the delay in modernizing safety systems