Greek media call it the "worst rail disaster the country has ever seen." The collision of two trains traveling on the same track in opposite directions near the town of Larissa, central Greece, on Tuesday, February 28, left at least 42 dead and 85 wounded according to the authorities' latest toll.

Although emotion was still acute on Wednesday – three days of national mourning have been declared by the prime minister – the circumstances of the accident raise many questions.

Some attribute the accident to the dilapidated state of a rail network that has been neglected for decades, especially after the economic crisis (2010-2018) and austerity measures that led, in 2017, to the takeover of the Greek railway company, Trainose, by the Italian state-owned company Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane (FS).

In tears, their faces strained, survivors interviewed by the Greek media in the early hours of Wednesday morning said they were "shocked" but also angry. The Greek railway company, renamed "Hellenic Train", expressed "deep sadness" but the families of the victims were critical of the lack of information. Above all, they denounce delays and recurrent failures on the line connecting Athens to the second city of the country, Thessaloniki.

A passenger told Mega television he "felt something was wrong when the train stopped abruptly." "The driver told us we would only be delayed for 15 minutes because it's a one-way track. We probably should have been halted longer..."

A young man told ERT television he had heard a member of staff say, "'Let's go and God only knows where this will lead us.' When you hear this kind of talk, you do not really feel reassured."

No details have been provided so far as to why two trains in opposite directions were running on the same track, at the same time. An investigation was opened and the Larissa station chief was arrested.

Charged with "negligent homicide" and "involuntary bodily injury," he was due to appear before judges on Thursday.

At the scene of the tragedy the day before, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke of a "tragic human error" and pledged his government would "find out the causes" of the accident in order to "do everything possible to ensure that such a thing never happens again." In tears, Kostas Karamanlis, the minister of transport, promised no details would be covered up.

A few hours later, he presented his resignation and admitted that, when he took office, "the Greek railroad was not in a state worthy of the 21st century."

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