Passenger trains linking Piraeus, a major port near Athens, to Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (40km from the capital), those between Athens and Chalkis (80km) and two other local lines in the western Peloponnese resumed running early Wednesday morning, according to operator Hellenic Train.
However, traffic on the line where the deadly head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight convoy took place on February 28 will not resume until April 1, according to the new Minister of Transport, Georges Gerapetritis.
It is the country's main line, 600 km long and connecting Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, in the north.
The minister promised last week additional safety measures including two drivers on intercity trains and "three assistants instead of two so far on Intercity passenger trains between Athens and Thessaloniki".
Attributed mainly to a mistake by the stationmaster on duty that evening, this accident, the worst that Greece has ever known, also revealed some negligence of the state in the modernization of train safety systems.
Rail transport in Greece is relatively undeveloped and comprises only about 2,100 km of track. A dense network of coaches serves the main cities and towns of the country.
The day after the accident, then-Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned.
Massive angry demonstrations, often violent, have rocked Athens and other cities since the disaster, pointing the finger at the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis but also his left-wing predecessors for neglecting train safety.
Under pressure, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Tuesday night that general elections would be held in May without specifying the exact date.
© 2023 AFP