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train crash
'It's Not an Accident, It's a Crime': Thousands March for Justice After Greek Train Disaster
The deadly collision "has further brought the negligence and corruption of the Greek government under scrutiny, and rightly so," said DiEM25. But "it was the E.U. and its institutions who forced Greece to sell off public utilities for a pittance."
Mar 08, 2023
Tens of thousands of people marched throughout Greece on Wednesday—amid a nationwide walkout organized by labor unions and student associations—to demand accountability and reforms in the wake of the country's deadliest train disaster, which has been attributed to austerity imposed from abroad.
The February 28 crash that killed 57 people and injured another 72 has sparked public outrage over the deteriorating quality of the rail network. As Reuters reported, "Striking workers say years of neglect, underinvestment, and understaffing—a legacy of Greece's decade-long debt crisis—are to blame."
"Greece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 during its debt crisis," the news outlet noted. "The sale was a term in the country's bailout agreements with the European Union and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund."
More than 40,000 workers and students hit the streets of Athens, where they chanted "murderers!" and "we are all in the same carriage." Demonstrators in Greece's capital and largest city also waved signs reading, It's not an accident, it's a crime" and, "It could have been any of us on that train."
Another 20,000-plus people rallied in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city. Meanwhile, near the scene of the train collision in Larrisa, protesters declared, "No to profits over our lives!"
The demonstrations coincided with a daylong strike called by trade unionists. Greece's largest public sector union participated in the work stoppage, disrupting a wide range of transit services, while a teachers' union made clear that "it's not the time to fall silent."
Rail workers, for their part, "have staged rolling, 24-hour strikes since Thursday, bringing the network to a halt," Reuters reported. "The workers say their demands for improvement in safety protocols have gone unheard for years."
Police have responded to protests held across Greece since the disaster occurred with violent repression.
\u201cEarlier today, our MeRA25 party members demonstrated peacefully against the hideous privatisation of our railways that led to a foreshadowed tragedy. Here is how the police treated us. Democrats of the world beware: Greece is sliding into a quasi-fascist condition.\u201d— Yanis Varoufakis (@Yanis Varoufakis) 1678047067
Many of the roughly 350 passengers aboard an intercity train that collided with a freight train while traveling on the same track—including 12 victims—were university students returning to Thessaloniki from Athens.
The stationmaster was arrested hours after the crash and is facing felony charges for disrupting transport and endangering lives.
"You feel angry because the government did nothing for all of those kids," 19-year-old Nikomathi Vathi told Reuters. "The public transport is a mess."
The main rail workers' union has vowed to "impose safe railways so that no one will ever experience the tragic accident at Tempi ever again," adding that "we have an obligation toward our fellow humans and our colleagues who were lost in the tragic accident."
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis this week accused the Greek government of trying to "cover-up the real causes of our railway tragedy... by bypassing parliamentary scrutiny and appointing arbitrarily its own three-member investigative committee—on which, remarkably, they included a gentleman who oversaw the botched privatization of our railways—not to mention the prime minister's pronouncement that the cause was human error."
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of Greece's conservative government who is up for re-election this year, orginally blamed the crash on human error before apologizing Sunday and "acknowledging that decades of neglect could have contributed to the disaster," Al Jazeera reported.
Hours after the collision, former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned. Mitsotakis appointed one of his closest allies, George Gerapetritis, to replace him.
At a Wednesday morning press conference, Gerapetritis said that he understands why people are angry, apologized for the crash and promised to identify its causes, and announced that rail services are being suspended until at least the end of March while the government conducts a safety review.
"No train will set off again if we have not secured safety at the maximum possible level," said Gerapetritis. Greece's new transport minister said the government plans to invest in upgrading infrastructure and hiring more staff.
According to Al Jazeera correspondent John Psaropoulos, the press conference raised "more questions than answers" and is likely to make "the families of the victims even angrier."
As the news outlet reported:
“First of all, we've learned that some of the automated systems that should have been in place throughout the Greek network, were in fact operational on the night of the accident in Larissa station," said Psaropoulos.
He explained that an automated optimal route selection for the train would have been possible, but was not used.
"Secondly, it also doesn't answer why two additional station masters who should have been on duty until 11:00 pm took off at 10:00 pm without permission. Thirdly, it does not answer why the train was about 15 minutes late in leaving," he added, explaining how all these things contributed to the collision.
"It suggests enormous problems in the operation and training of personnel," said Psaropoulos.
E.U. Railway Agency executive director Josef Doppelbauer told Euronews on Wednesday that his organization repeatedly warned Greek authorities of the need to shore up rail safety prior to the deadly crash.
Despite years of warnings from regulators and the provision of funding to modernize the country's railways, Doppelbauer said, Greek officials failed to fully implement an automated rail traffic management system and other recommended changes. If they had, he added, the disaster likely would have been averted.
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to provide technical support. Gerapetritis was set to meet with Doppelbauer and other transportation experts from the bloc later on Wednesday.
Varoufakis, who served as Greece's finance minister in 2015 when the "troika"—the EC, the European Central Bank, and the IMF—rammed through a devastating "structural adjustment" program, balked at Leyen's offer, arguing that she helped bring about the crisis in the first place.
The EC was part of the unelected troika that "railroaded the Greek government into the botched privatization that caused the tragedy," he noted. "Keep your assistance dear Ursula. We have had enough."
\u201cWhat, the same Commission which, as part of the troika, railroaded the Greek gvt into the botched privatisation that caused the tragedy? Keep your assistance dear Ursula. We have had enough\u201d— Yanis Varoufakis (@Yanis Varoufakis) 1678117844
Last week, the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), which was co-founded by Varoufakis, argued that "the E.U. has blood on its hands."
The deadly collision "has further brought the negligence and corruption of the Greek government under scrutiny, and rightly so," the group said. "However, the role of the European Union in the tragedy cannot go unmentioned either, as it was the E.U. and its institutions who forced Greece to sell off public utilities for a pittance to private—and in the case of the railways, bankrupt and incompetent—companies."
Erik Edman, spokesperson of the European Realistic Disobedience Front (MeRA25), a left-wing Greek political party founded by Varoufakis, denounced the E.U.'s posturing after it lowered its flags to half-mast on Friday in a symbolic tribute to the victims of the crash.
"The architects of the permanent impoverishment of the Greek state and the disastrous privatization of its public property are lowering their flags today," said Edman. "The EC were the brains behind the haphazard privatization that forced the Greek state to sell the entirety of its national railways to the bankrupt (!) Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane for—I kid you not—a measly 45 million euros."
"They view demonstrations, such as those by Greek rail workers, as backward unionists opposing the efficiency of privatization," Edman continued. "People who had been warning of an inevitable accident as a result of underinvestment. Their colleagues had been injured in past years, and now."
"They constantly praise the corrupt government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis as a 'success story,'" he added. "So, they should either stand by the policies they've been supporting and keep the flags up, or take them down and put them away in shame. Anything else is hypocrisy of the worst kind."
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EPA Orders Norfolk Southern to Clean Up Contamination From Ohio Train Crash
"Let me be clear," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. "Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community."
Feb 21, 2023
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan on Tuesday met with residents of East Palestine, Ohio Tuesday as he announced that the Biden administration has ordered railway operator Norfolk Southern to take responsibility for all cleanup work associated with the train derailment that forced the town to evacuate temporarily earlier this month.
The EPA issued a legally binding order to the company, requiring it to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water, reimburse the agency for cleaning services that will be offered throughout the town to give residents peace of mind regarding the safety of air and drinking water, attend public meetings, and pay for the costs the EPA incurs during the cleanup.
"My job is to hold the company accountable and make sure that they clean up and pay for it," said Regan at a roundtable discussion with residents. "I think it's important that we have these conversations, so that as we enforce the laws and as the company does the cleanup, they do it in a way that is satisfactory to some of the requests that you all have."
\u201cEPA Administrator Michael Regan speaks at a roundtable with East Palestine, Ohio residents following the train derailment disaster:\n\n\u201cMy job is to hold [Norfolk Southern] accountable and make sure that they clean up and pay for it.\u201d\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1677001218
Any required work that Norfolk Southern fails to complete will immediately be done by the agency, said the EPA in a statement, and the agency will "then seek to compel Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost."
"The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA's order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community," said Regan. "Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community... To the people of East Palestine, EPA stands with you now and for as long as it may take."
"Norfolk Southern will attend and participate in public meetings at EPA's request and share information with the public. Full transparency is the only option."
The company has been conducting cleanup operations since the derailment occurred on February 3, and said Monday that it has removed at least 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of polluted water.
After the crash, the company began a controlled release of vinyl chloride, the carcinogenic chemical which was carried by five of the rail cars. The release of the chemical can send hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the environment.
Since evacuated residents were told by officials that it was safe to return to East Palestine, some have reported symptoms including headaches and rashes, as well as lingering chemical smells—raising alarm about the safety of the town.
As Common Dreams reported Saturday, officials advised residents that drinking water in East Palestine was safe after tests that were paid for by Norfolk Southern and that some experts found to be flawed.
Anger has grown in the town and across the country in the weeks since the crash, with residents infuriated last month after officials from Norfolk Southern pulled out of a planned town hall meeting, citing "the growing physical threat to our employees."
"Norfolk Southern will attend and participate in public meetings at EPA's request and share information with the public," said Regan. "Full transparency is the only option."
\u201cEPA orders Norfolk Southern to clean up "all contamination in soil and water" in #EastPalestine, pay for cleaning services and hold public meetings, administrator Michael Regan says: "Full transparency is the only option." More: https://t.co/7qilHYz1nk\u201d— NewsNation (@NewsNation) 1677002454
Regan noted that the legally binding order "cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much needed comfort for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused."
Critics including rail workers, environmental groups, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have blamed the crash on the rail company's use of a scheduling system that prioritizes speed over the well-being of workers and the public and its lobbying against safety regulations.
Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Regan Tuesday in East Palestine, which lies near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, and said Norfolk Southern "injected unnecessary risk" into the response to the disaster with its "failed management."
"The combination of Norfolk Southern's corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me," Shapiro said.
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Threatening Legal Action, Groups Call On Buttigieg to Ensure Ohio Toxic Train Crash Is Last of Its Kind
"It should not take another exploding train to get DOT's attention."
Feb 17, 2023
With progressive lawmakers and rail workers condemning the profit-driven railway scheduling policies that employees say are to blame for the February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, environmental advocates on Friday called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to reinstate safety rules to prevent similar crashes.
Representing Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, Washington Conservation Action, and Stand, environmental law group Earthjustice wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, demanding a response to an administrative appeal the organizations originally put forward in 2018, after the agency repealed electronic braking system requirements for trains carrying hazardous material.
After the Trump administration repealed the rule—with the strong support of rail companies including Norfolk Southern, the operator of the train that crashed in East Palestine—the groups warned that the Department of Transportation (DOT) had not conducted mandatory safety tests and did not allow the public to provide input into the change.
Following more than four years of "silence" from the federal government, including the Biden administration, the groups wrote, it has taken "a tragedy... to turn attention to this issue again."
"The Biden administration must do everything in its power to protect the people in East Palestine and other rail-adjacent communities from the devastating impacts of train accidents and explosions."
Two weeks after the disaster, the agency "has not moved to reinstate an Obama-era rail safety rule aimed at expanding the use of better braking technology," reported The Lever last week.
"We seek an assurance that the department will provide an expeditious response, albeit long overdue, to our administrative appeal," wrote the groups. "If we do not hear from you with a timeline for such a response, we will consider taking legal action."
Earthjustice's original appeal of the DOT's braking system decision pertained specifically to trains that carry large amounts of crude oil, while the 150-car Norfolk Southern train that crashed in East Palestine, Ohio was carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride, which has been linked to liver cancer and other cancers.
During a "controlled release" of chemicals that officials began after the crash to prevent an explosion, the burning of the vinyl chloride sent into the air hydrogen chloride, which can irritate the throat, eyes, and skin; and phosgene, a colorless gas that can cause vomiting and difficulty breathing and was used as a weapon during World War I.
"Railroads crisscross the nation running along our waterfronts, bridging our rivers, and rolling through our neighborhoods," said Sean Dixon, executive director at Puget Soundkeeper. "Reliance on century-old braking technology is unacceptably negligent; the DOT cannot continue to delay modernization of this vital aspect of rail safety. Hazardous, flammable cargos of dangerous chemicals and volatile hydrocarbons present an undeniable threat to public health and the environment—a threat that must be mitigated, immediately."
Since the derailment, East Palestine residents—who have been told by officials that it's safe for them to return to their homes following a brief evacuation—have reported nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, and headaches.
"It is not clear whether the Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous and cancer-causing chemicals in Ohio would have been covered by DOT's repealed brake system requirement," said Earthjustice. "What is clear, however, is that the agency has failed to require up-to-date, modern brake systems for most trains carrying explosively toxic materials."
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, another train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed outside Detroit. The train was carrying liquid chlorine, but officials said the substance was not near the cars that overturned and a railroad representative told a local NBC affiliate that no hazardous materials were spilled.
\u201cWe need better protections.\u201d— Earthjustice (@Earthjustice) 1676649780
"It's troubling that the revised safety regulations clearly do not go far enough to prevent such disasters, and the government's ability to respond and provide essential disclosures to the community is far from adequate," said Devorah Ancel, senior attorney at the Sierra Club. "The Biden administration must do everything in its power to protect the people in East Palestine and other rail-adjacent communities from the devastating impacts of train accidents and explosions."
Earthjustice demanded that Buttigieg take immediate action instead of waiting for yet another accident to endanger a community, where attorney Kristen Boyles noted residents have no control over what chemicals trains that pass through are carrying or what safety measures railroad companies are taking.
"It should not take another exploding train to get DOT's attention," said Boyles. "Communities can't keep trains out, can't get safety measures, can't know what trains are carrying, and yet are left with the human health and environmental problems when there's an accident."
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