The shocking report of the Fire Brigade that was sent to those responsible 10 days after the tragedy of Tempi refers to “deadly mousetraps”.
by Data Journalists
There are 13 pages of deficiencies found by experts even in newly constructed tunnels, which cost hundreds of millions of euros.
What did the inspections show in the tunnels of Platanos – Trapeza, Aigio, Derveni, Melissi, Agioi Theodoroi, Kallidromio, Othrios, Psilorachi, Bralos, Orphana, Tempi, Platamonas, Sphigga, Eutaxia and Ikonio of Perama.
Without firefighting and fire detection networks, with smoke extraction systems not working, access for fire and rescue vehicles being problematic or impossible, control centers for monitoring and remote management of emergencies decommissioned, and intercommunication within tunnels, either via radio or mobile phones, not feasible.
By Aris Hadjigeorgios
Rarely does a “service document” cause such a concern, but the Fire Department’s report of the inspections it carried out in 15 long railway tunnels does point to apocalyptic scenes.
Perhaps it is due to the fact that the specific document we publish today was sent on March 10, 2023, ten days after the tragic accident in Tempi and after everyone had heard how many more would be the victims if the frontal collision occurred in the adjacent tunnel of Tempi.
So the document reached the recipients (Ministries of Infrastructure-Transport and Climate Crisis-Civil Protection, OSE, Hellenic Train, ERGOSE, Railway Regulatory Authority) after the accident, but the autopsies had been carried out, as reported, up to 12 months earlier. So, in all this time, there have been hundreds of itineraries with such serious shortcomings?
In an environment where every responsible person feels a candidate for accountability, the answer emerges from the context: theoretically, OSE – as responsible for the infrastructure – was informed as its executives participated in the Fire Department’s inspections. It is unknown, however, whether, in the climate of obsolescence that preceded the accident, some improvement work was done. But there is a statement by the Minister of State George Gerapetritis on Saturday, March 18, 2023, that makes the shudder even more intense as, in view of the routes that would be restarted, he said: “I asked for special emphasis on the issue of tunnel safety. Especially for the tunnels, apart from the necessary upgrade, which should be in place, we have in very immediate plans the upgrading of surveillance with electronic cameras.”
This explains the fact that the restart that the government wanted to start with even fewer routes than those originally announced. Especially for the issue of tunnels and problematic communication, the drivers asked for written assurances but did not receive them and the freight routes did not start on the Athens-Thessaloniki axis.
The shortcomings found by fire experts fill 13 pages and, in some cases, describe the tunnels, for which hundreds of millions of euros were spent, as lethal mousetraps, as:
- – Firefighting and fire detection networks are absent or not working.
- – Access of fire and rescue vehicles is problematic or impossible. This problem concerns the vast majority of tunnels, even some built in recent years.
- – Not many of the smoke extraction systems work.
- – Control centers for monitoring and remote emergency management do not operate or have employees.
- – There are no procedures against the leakage of hazardous materials, nor special intervention vehicles for movement on the lines.
- – Emergency assembly stations do not provide protection against smoke and fire.
- – It is not possible to intercom within the tunnels, either via radio or via mobile phones.
SEE THE DETAILED REPORT OF THE FIRE BRIGADE FOR THE 15 TUNNELS HERE.
The inspections of the Fire Brigade were carried out in the 15 long railway tunnels of Platanos – Trapeza, Aigio, Derveni, Melissi, Agioi Theodoroi, Kallidromio, Othrios, Psilorachi, Bralos, Orphano, Tempi, Platamon, Sphigga, Eutaxia, and Ikonio in Perama. According to the reports, no inspections have been made in the tunnels of Agioi Anargyroi and Kakia Skala, and OSE executives did not come to carry them out.
The dramatic shortcomings are summarized in a way that is understandable even for someone without much technical knowledge. Obviously, the crowd is not the same in all the tunnels, but it does feel that critical issues are being identified even in those that were built very recently, such as the “double” line at Kallidromo, more than 9 km long (the largest in the Balkans) that cost 354 million euros.
The tunnel of Tempi was found in a much worse condition than the Kallidromo tunnel, in which the inspection had taken place a year before the accident, in March 2022. Water supply networks without proper water supply, problematic access to fire trucks, inability to communicate wirelessly, insufficient lighting and ventilation, lack of protection on escape routes, and lack of maintenance in a multitude of systems, are just some of the findings.
The inspections of the Fire Brigade were carried out in the 15 long railway tunnels of Platanos – Trapeza, Aigio, Derveni, Melissi, Agioi Theodoroi, Kallidromio, Othrios, Psilorachi, Bralos, Orphano, Tempi, Platamon, Sphigga, Eutaxia, and Ikonio in Perama. According to the reports, no inspections have been made in the tunnels of Agioi Anargyroi and Kakia Skala, and OSE executives did not come to carry them out.
The dramatic shortcomings are summarized in a way that is understandable even for someone without much technical knowledge. Obviously, the crowd is not the same in all the tunnels, but it does feel that critical issues are being identified even in those that were built very recently, such as the “double” line at Kallidromo, more than 9 km long (the largest in the Balkans) that cost 354 million euros.
The tunnel of Tempi was found in a much worse condition than the Kallidromo tunnel, in which the inspection had taken place a year before the accident, in March 2022. Water supply networks without proper water supply, problematic access to fire trucks, inability to communicate wirelessly, insufficient lighting and ventilation, lack of protection on escape routes, and lack of maintenance in a multitude of systems, are just some of the findings.
The Platamon tunnel, 4,232 meters long, is one of those in which the rail tracks of ascent and descent are hosted in a concrete hole. This means that, according to the increased security measures announced, whenever routes start, a way must be found not to meet two trains at the same time. And here the Fire Department’s inspection identified very serious issues:
There are cameras at the two entrances, but there is no personnel to monitor them at the local St. Raphael control center.
- – Easy access to fire trucks is not guaranteed at all points.
- – The firefighting network was found without pressure and needs immediate maintenance.
- – There is no generator in case of power failure
- – There is a temperature detection system that does not work and the fans must be maintained.
- – Missing fireproof doors that protect escape shafts and those who flee into them.
- – Lack of lighting, fire detection, emergency phones do not work and mobile phones do not get a signal.
- – There is no special vehicle for transporting firefighting material, only a converted wagon, parked in Thessaloniki, ie 100 kilometers away.
The recording of the deficiencies continues for newer and older tunnels, very often with repeated findings, which sound like the monotonous sound of the wheels making the trains roll on the rails.
Like nails in the coffin of the Greek railway, placed by those who left it for years without maintenance and staff and engaged only in major projects, PPPs, and Recovery Funds.
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