Today, Wednesday, tens of thousands of people marched in Greece to protest the worst train collision in the country, and workers organized a 24-hour strike in various sectors, paralyzing the country.

The strike was carried out by bus and boat drivers, doctors, teachers and public sector workers.

The strike particularly affected large cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki, where traffic was chaotic, ships lay in ports and many islands were cut off from the mainland.

The accident, which took place on February 28, killed 57 passengers, and fueled public anger over the deteriorating state of the railway network.

Employees and workers who participated in the strike say that what happened is the result of continuous neglect over the years, in addition to a lack of investment and a shortage of workers, which is the result of a debt crisis that the country has been suffering from for nearly a decade.

"We're all in the same car."

More than 40,000, including transport workers, students and teachers, took part in the march in central Athens, chanting "murderers" and "we are all in the same car". A group of protesters clashed with police, who fired tear gas into the crowd.

Thousands also took to the streets in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, where protesters threw stones at a government building.

University students made up a large number of the total of about 350 passengers who were on a train transporting them from Athens to Thessaloniki, when it collided head-on with a freight train that was traveling on the same line, but in the opposite direction.

The train incident has sparked protests across the country over the past week.

They opposed partial privatization

Many opposed the partial privatization of Hellenic Railways several years ago, but the new operator is an Italian company and is responsible only for operations, not infrastructure.

The state-owned OSE Railways maintains the infrastructure, but mismanagement caused, among other things, the accident, Greek media reported.

Critics say the station manager was inexperienced and left alone during a holiday, and accuse officials of failing to overhaul safety standards on the train network.

The station manager on duty at the time of the accident admitted wrongdoing, but for many Greeks, the main burden of responsibility is the state.