Hellenic Railways CEO Christos Palios issued a new statement following his remarks before Parliament’s Public Enterprises Committee, where he said that the ETCS system is not currently operational.
Addressing the public debate over the safety of Greece’s railway network, Palios stated:
“To restore the true picture, I want to be absolutely clear: As committed by both the Government and our company’s management, by the end of August 2026 the main Athens–Thessaloniki railway corridor will have 100% remote traffic control, 100% signalling and 100% ETCS installation.
This was also confirmed during yesterday’s inspection of the railway works in Thessaly and the areas affected by Storm Daniel, where restoration projects are progressing rapidly and remain on schedule, within the original 15-month timeline and without any extensions.
ETCS, the automatic train protection and braking system, has already been installed along most of the railway corridor and will be fully installed by the end of August. However, installation should be distinguished from full operational deployment, which will begin only after the necessary certification and licensing procedures have been completed.
At the same time, an additional safety layer has been introduced to reduce the risk of human error through railway.gov.gr, a platform operating around the clock at the Rail Traffic Control Centre that automatically detects potential risks in train operations.
It should also be noted that train services on the Athens–Thessaloniki corridor are already operating with active signalling and remote traffic control, with the exception of the Lianokladi–Larissa section, where repair works are still underway following the damage caused by Storm Daniel.
Hellenic Railways is working according to a specific plan and a strict timetable. For Hellenic Railways, safety is a daily operational obligation and our absolute priority.”
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